Colin Kaepernick opened up a dialogue across the country — and especially throughout the NFL — when he first protested the national anthem to draw attention to societal issues. Though he is not on a roster, other players in the league are continuing his efforts and actively working with the league on the matter.
Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson reported Wednesday night that a group of players are involved in a dialogue with Commissioner Roger Goodell about the matter of social activism. The group consists of Seattle’s Michael Bennett, Philly’s Malcolm Jenkins and Torrey Smith, and former player Anquan Boldin.
Bennett and Jenkins are among the players who have protested the anthem this season. The dialogue apparently began after Goodell reached out to some of the players in August about their protests. He wanted to see how the sides could move the conversation forward. The next step was the players getting together and sending a 10-page memo to the commissioner and NFL executive Troy Vincent.
According to Yahoo, “the memo was divided into three major parts: an overview of current player activism; a call for specific efforts and resources from the NFL to aid that activism; and a request for a league-wide initiative dedicating the month of November to activism awareness.”
The players want to see a month dedicated to activism, just like the way the NFL has a month for breast cancer awareness and military appreciation.
Goodell is reportedly seeking to create better lines of communication between players and the league regarding activism. He also is trying to see how the league can help move protests/activism forward.
Ultimately, it seems that Goodell has heard the message from his players and wants to get behind them. Goodell is reportedly close to receiving a contract extension from the league’s owners and would have plenty of time to make progress on this matter if he does get extended.
