So, NFL Commissioner Goodell posts
a YouTube video Friday in which he states, “We, the NFL, admit that we were
wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out
and peacefully protest. We, the NFL,
believe Black Lives Matter.” Oh, to know
how that came about.
Notice Goodell used the
first-person plural. Depending how he
defined “we,” the commissioner is either including owners or interns down the
hall in his mea culpa. I wouldn’t put #2
past him, but, for argument’s sake, lets it’s all about #1. OK, then, let’s get those cameras on Jerry Jones,
Robert Kraft and all those other NFL owners who’ve contributed to Donald Trump
over the years. Have they undergone a true
change of heart, or did they do some number crunching, or both?
If Goodell and the owners are
responding without considering what the respective fan bases think, I’m truly
blown away. If this response is in fact
made after assessing what fans think, I’m still blown away. I’ve always wondered about the extent of any
fan-base intersection in Chicago between football and baseball, especially the
White Sox. Being a White Sox fan implies
an acceptance of diversity; that comes with the address of the ballpark. Plus, there’s history: Minoso, Aparicio,
Guillen, Abreu…Conversations at 35th and Shields rarely include the
phrase “you people.”
The crowd at Bears’ games strikes
me as less diverse. If that’s the case,
the McCaskeys have joined Goodell in nothing less than a leap of faith; Bears’
fans have changed; or I’ve misjudged them.
Whichever it is, President Trump won’t be able to play the NFL card the
way did four years ago when Colin Kaepernick starting taking a knee in protest
of racial injustice. Now, showing an
oversized American flag before a game or at halftime will come in a entirely different
context.
That’s for sure.
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