Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Four NFL Players Ask League for One Month Dedicated to Social Activism

(L-R) MIchael Bennett, Torrey Smith, Malcolm Jenkins, Anquan Boldin
(L-R) MIchael Bennett, Torrey Smith, Malcolm Jenkins, Anquan Boldin

*A group of four NFL players are spearheading an effort to dedicate one month out of the football season for players to promote social activism.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins and wide receiver Torrey Smith, and former Arizona Cardinals wideout Anquan Boldin sent the NFL a 10-page memo to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent in August requesting league support for their movement.

The players are requesting the NFL endorse the month of November as an activism awareness month, “similarly to what the league already implements for breast cancer awareness, honoring military, etc.,” the memo states. The memo seeks an investment of time and education, political involvement, finances and other commitments from the league.

Read the entire memo here.

Below, more details about the memo via Yahoo Sports:

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 – similar to the league’s support of National Breast Cancer Awareness month. The memo also included a potential timeline for the execution of wider-ranging NFL support, starting in late August 2018 and punctuated by a Sept. 9 “Announcement of Owners/Players Support goinagentg into opening day.” It finished with several pages of an addendum detailing specific aspects of criminal justice reform the players believe are necessary, including police accountability and transparency, bail reform, the criminalization of poverty and other areas.

While it is unknown how Goodell responded, the commissioner and Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie recently attended a “listen and learn” tour in Philadelphia on Sept. 12, organized by Jenkins, Boldin, Smith and attended by teammates Chris Long and Rodney McLeod. The focus of the meeting, which was recently posted on the Eagles’ Facebook page, was to talk with Goodell and Lurie about work the players have been doing in the Philadelphia community to revamp criminal justice reform in the city.

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