Roger Goodell and the NFL have had their feet to the fire over the last week as the country broke out into mass protests after the killing of George Floyd.
People criticized the league and its commissioner for its recent statement apologizing for not listening to players’ concerns about racism and police brutality in America over 4 years ago, when players peacefully protested by taking a knee.
One major flaw with Goodell’s recent video statement is that it never mentioned Colin Kaepernick — the player who started it all back in 2016. The league still continues to refuse to acknowledge Kaepernick, even in this moment where his protest is as relevant as ever. That’s why, for so many people, the leagues apology rings hollow.
One of those people is the Revered Al Shaprton, who performed the eulogy at George Floyd’s funeral in Houston on Tuesday about two weeks after Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer.
Sharpton condemned the NFL’s apology and demanded the league give Kaepernick “a job back.”
Rev. Al Sharpton addressing Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL:
“Well don’t apologize — give Colin Kaepernick a job back.” pic.twitter.com/D0s3537Xes
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 9, 2020
“The head of the NFL said, ‘Yeah, maybe we was wrong. Football players, maybe they did have the right to peacefully protest.’ Well, don’t apologize. Give Colin Kaepernick a job back. Don’t come with some empty apology. Take a man’s livelihood. Strip a man down of his talents. And four years later, when the whole world is marching, all of a sudden you go and do a FaceTime, talk about you sorry. Minimizing the value of our lives. You sorry? Then repay the damage you did to the career you stood down, ’cause when Colin took a knee, he took it for for the families in this building. And we don’t want an apology. We want him repaired.”
Sharpton is making a fair point here.
Kaepernick’s protests are now very clearly justified, as they were then. The ills of this country that he spoke out about are once again coming to a head. We’re living in a moment where that is as clear as day.
Yet, still, the NFL won’t even acknowledge him in what is supposed to be an apology. And that makes it difficult to take Goodell’s words seriously.
Sharpton isn’t the only one who feels this way. Kenny Stills and Eric Reid were among those who came out in support of Kaepernick shortly after the NFL issued its initial statement on George Floyd’s killing.
Their point is clear: The only way for the NFL to truly acknowledge that they’ve done wrong here is to get Kaepernick back on the field.
Until they do that, it’s hard to take any apology the NFL may have seriously.