As part of the NFL’s ongoing commitment to social justice programs, the messages “It Takes All of Us” and “End Racism” will be taped across all end zone borders for starters, the league office reported. to the clubs in a memo obtained on Monday by ESPN.
The two inclusion messages, which will be recorded in opposite end zones during the start week, are key elements of the league’s broader and more multifaceted deployment with the intention of highlighting its efforts to support diversity and inclusion as the new one begins. season.
The messages in the end zone demonstrate “how football and the NFL bring people together to work as one and use our example and our actions to help conquer racism,” the memo reads.
As previously reported, a recorded performance of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” traditionally known as the Black National Anthem, will be featured at pregame ceremonies. On the stadium’s video screens, montages of NFL players and clubs’ social justice work will accompany the song. In addition, according to the memo, the NFL has “engaged the James Weldon Johnson Foundation (the song’s author) and the NAACP to work with us to inform and educate fans about the song’s historical significance in the weeks leading up to it. initially, and will use NFL-owned and operated channels to share as widely as possible. “
The memo also confirms that players will have the option of wearing helmet decals to honor victims of systemic racism.
“Each player will have the option to honor an individual by displaying that person’s name through a sticker on the back of their helmet,” the note read. “Players will be offered a list of names and brief biographical information to help guide their decision making, however they may also select a victim of systemic racism who is not represented on this list.” If coaches want to, they can honor victims of systemic racism by wearing patches on their hats.
Additionally, the league will recognize essential workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Featured in the seat of each club that covers between the 30-yard lines, there will be messages of thanks to these front-line workers,” the note read.
The league worked with players and the NFL Players Association to develop its Week 1 plan. Owners of the league’s social justice task force: Gayle Benson, New Orleans Saints; Michael Bidwill, Arizona Cardinals; Arthur Blank, Atlanta Falcons; Dee Haslam, Cleveland Browns; Shad Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Pittsburgh Steelers team president Art Rooney II, chairman of the NFL’s workplace diversity committee, were also consulted.
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