NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: ‘We were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier’

On Friday, Roger Goodell finally admitted the NFL was “wrong” about its response to peaceful protests made by prominent players in recent years.

A day after a group of black NFL players came together for a video of their own to call on the league to condemn racism and systematic oppression, the commissioner responded with his own video. The players, including former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry, asked the league to say it condemns “racism and the systemic oppression of black people.

“We, the National Football League, admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting,” players asked the league to say. “We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter.”

On Friday, Goodell spoke those words verbatim.

“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people,” Goodell said in the video posted on Twitter. The video spanned one minute and 21 seconds.

“We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all players to speak out and peacefully protest,” Goodell continued. “We, the National Football League, believe that black lives matter.”

The video, the NFL’s strongest statement yet regarding racism and systematic oppression, comes more than a week after the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota sparked a wave of massive protests, which have popped up in all 50 states and still continued into the weekend despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “What if I was George Floyd?” players, including Patrick Mahomes, asked in their video. The NFL first responded with a lengthy social media post Thursday before the league shared the video of Goodell on Friday.

“Without black players, there would be no National Football League. And the pros around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans and staff,” Goodell said. “We are listening. I am listening. And I will be reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve, and go forward for a better and more united NFL family.”

The NFL has been at the center of protests against racism, police brutality and systematic oppression since 2016, when Colin Kaepernick began sitting and ultimately kneeling during the National Anthem to protest these injustices. Players across the league followed in the quarterback’s footsteps, including Dolphins wide receiver Albert Wilson and former Miami wideout Kenny Stills, whom the Dolphins traded to the Houston Texans last year after he spoke out against owner Stephen M. Ross’ support of President Donald Trump. Although the causes players were protesting for were noble, the athletes faced backlash from fans, media and even owners, some of whom twisted the message of the protests, claiming they were protesting the flag itself or the military.

Kaepernick, who led the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl 47 in 2013, has been out of the league since the 49ers released him after the 2016 season. Safety Eric Reid, another of the league’s most outspoken protesters, remains a free agent after the Carolina Panthers released him in 2020 following a 130-tackle season.

Last season, Wilson continued kneeling during the Anthem every time he was on Miami’s sidelines. After the protests spilled onto the streets and occasionally led to riots or looting, the NFL finally said it understands its players.