The NFL, which had famously opposed any political displays or changes to its basic uniform guidelines for decades is taking another step away from that.
Commissioner Roger Goodell had previously announced that the league would allow its players to protest during the National Anthem and wear helmet decals supporting with names of victims of systemic racism and police violence. On Friday, CBS reported that the league will allow coaches and officials to wear patches on their hats as part of the NFL’s Inspire Change movement.
“NFL coaches and officials will wear similar patches on their hats, being able to choose among one of the four league-approved social-justice phrases or names of victims of systemic racism. Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will wear George Floyd’s name on his hat all season, while head coach Adam Gase’s entire New York Jets coaching staff has decided collectively to wear “Black Lives Matter” in the 2020 season.
“We reached out to players as we were coming back into the season to talk about what are issues that we want to address,” Traci Otey Blunt, the NFL’s senior vice president of corporate communications, told CBS. “Obviously social justice and Inspire Change were a part of that. When we were talking to players, coaches and officials also wanted to be a part of being able to honor and recognize the victims of systemic racism and draw attention to what’s happening in society right now.”
The NFL’s change in policy followed nationwide protests and outrage sparked by police killing George Floyd in Minnesota and further stoked by Jacob Blake’s shooting last month in Wisconsin.
The league previously committed $250 million over 10 years in June to causes that work to end racial injustice. The league released this statement:
The NFL is growing our social justice efforts through a 10-year total $250 million fund to combat systemic racism and support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African-Americans. The NFL and our clubs will continue to work collaboratively with NFL players to support programs to address criminal justice reform, police reforms, and economic and educational advancement. In addition to the financial commitment, we will continue to leverage the NFL Network and all of our media properties to place an increased emphasis on raising awareness and promoting education of social justice issues to our fans and help foster unity.
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