The NFL released a new statement on Thursday night "pledging a commitment to its players in their efforts to address systemic racism and change," according to Curtis Crabtree of PRO FOOTBALL TALK. The league's Instagram statement Thursday night came after a "collection of the NFL's star black players released a pointed message" earlier in the evening "imploring the NFL to follow through on those statements of support." The players "now appear intent on making sure the league and its teams now walk the walk as well so the statements aren't reduced to empty gestures" (NBCSPORTS.com, 6/5). USA TODAY's Analis Bailey notes some of the NFL's "most prominent names spoke out Thursday night, telling the league how they should address racism and inequality with a powerful video." As the video's tone "darkens and the music grows, the players call on the NFL to address inequality head-on." Players featured in the video included Odell Beckham Jr., Tyrann Mathieu, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Ezekiel Elliott, Jarvis Landry, Saquon Barkley, DeAndre Hopkins and Michael Thomas (USA TODAY, 6/5).
TRUE TEST: In Boston, Ben Volin writes although NFL games are still three months away, there is a "good chance that kneeling demonstrations will return" this season. That could threaten the league's bottom line, and "only then will we see whether owners, coaches, and players are willing to accept peaceful protests and affect social change, or whether their activism was more of a trendy whim." The "true test of the NFL's commitment to social justice won’t come until the games start in September, when the political rhetoric starts flying and the bottom line gets threatened" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/5).
HOW WILL NFL RESPOND? In Las Vegas, Ed Graney writes "don't confuse" Drew Brees as the "central problem to those injustices" against which Colin Kaepernick protested. It is "much bigger than any one person." It "long has been the way of the NFL." Graney: "Stop talking. Start acting" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/5). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote with the kneeling demonstrations now back in the forefront for the NFL, here comes the "return of its worst (and most unresolved) nightmare." Only this time, with "seemingly different rules of engagement." Wetzel: "Will kneeling protests, if they return, feature a majority of players, or even all of them? Will it be a white quarterback -- who, unfortunately, can still have outsized influence compared to an African American teammate -- that leads this time?" This is the "new reality for an old situation that the NFL, from its central office to its owners suites to its individual meeting rooms, has to finally figure out how to navigate" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/4).
