The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, joined by the NAACP, Campaign Zero, National Urban League, National Action Network, Advancement Project, Gathering for Justice, and the Women’s March, have written NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, saying they stand with NFL players protesting the shootings of unarmed black men--primarily by taking a knee during the national anthem at its nationally televised games--and want the League to do more to support that social justice effort.
They pointed to the NFL's commitment to join with its players to advocate for social justice, and pushed it to adopt a set of "comprehensive actions the NFL can take to address the issues that lie at the heart of the players’ longstanding protests," which boils down to "ending systemic racism." They want a formal meeting with the commissioner to discuss those and other issues.
They recognized the NFL's support of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017 and its commitment to engage with social justice organizations.
"We know that the NFL has the capacity to address social justice issues in a meaningful way as demonstrated by its work on issues concerning veterans and breast cancer awareness," the groups said. "We look forward to scheduling a meeting with the NFL to discuss actions that can and must be taken now to address the police shooting crisis which lies front and center for many of the League’s players, for our organizations and for the nation."
President Donald Trump has been bashing the protests as un-American and pushing the NFL to crack down on them.
