NFL Slams Kansas City Chiefs Fan in Black Face, Native Headdress.
They are doubling down on racism. Will you say something Roger Goodell?
It’s not easy to hate two people at once, but on a Sunday afternoon in Vegas, a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs found a new way to hate both Black people and Native Americans simultaneously. It was like Jon Gruden’s emails came true.
There are so many questions that need to be asked:
Why was the camera person targeting this fan?
Why was the producer allowing this angle to be broadcast?
Is this fan a child/teenager, or is this fan a young adult, despite his age?
Who taught him or her what he or she was wearing?
The answer to all of these questions is “NFL.” While it’s not the NFL’s job to prevent racism and hatred from being taught at home, it is a league that actively participates in prejudice.
If the NFL banned the chop at the Kansas City Chiefs’ home games and acted more aggressively to rename the team, then we would not be where we are today.
There is no room for a franchise that calls itself the ‘Chiefs’ in the NFL, which has already banned the ‘Redskins’.
“There is no right or wrong way to mascot someone,” Native American activist Amanda Blackhorse said in an interview earlier this year after leading a protest at a Kansas City Chiefs game. “This is the result of banning books, opposing Critical Race Theory and trying to erase hundreds of years of hate. By doing so, you are giving future generations the tools they need to further develop and recreate racism.”
“We are dedicated to inspiring change and working on social justice in the long-term,” Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president for social responsibility, said in 2021, when the league began allowing players to wear Stop Hate decals that read “Black Lives Matter,” “Inspire Change,” “Say Their Stories,” and “End Racism” on their helmets as part of the league’s “social justice initiatives.”
Notice how the term “social justice” is often used instead of “racial justice” as a way to mask the hate. It’s an attempt to distract attention from the real issue.
The league’s ultimate insult, however, can be seen in the end zones during every game. Do you have any idea how hard it is to argue that racism should end when you have a history like the NFL’s? It’s like Jim Trotter, Brian Flores, and now the Attorneys General of New York and California aren’t even investigating them for alleged racism.
The notion that it would take the entire human race to put an end to racism is not only preposterous, but it is downright offensive. By assuming that the perpetrators of racism are responsible for their actions, you are absolving them of any accountability for their actions. It is also unconscionable that the oppressed would expect their oppressors to help them end their oppression.
If you think the NFL is deluded enough to think their end zone slogans will make a difference, you’re right. The league is extremely sensitive to its “message” when it comes to end zone stencils. During the pre-season, there were rumors that the new motto would be “Play Football,” but when Deadspin reached out to the league for comment, Brian McCarthy, the vice president of communications, sent us a very brief response (12 minutes).
“There’s no change from last year,” McCarthy said. “Play Football was featured for the pre-season as part of the league’s initiative.”
At this time, the league has not issued a statement on what happened in the stands on Sunday in Las Vegas. The image of that fan circulating on the internet is not only a bad look for the league, but it is also what we should expect from the league.
The NFL has always stood with the African American community, our players, our clubs and our fans. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell once said, “We must take tangible and productive steps to confront systemic racism. We will not give up and we will double down on our efforts to be a force for positive change in our society and communities.”
It’s been three years since Goodell said that, and the league is in worse shape than it was during the “race awakening” of 2020. During that time, the commissioner said he would “apologize to Colin kaepernick,” “let” players kneel in “self-expression,” and promised that “things would change.” Nothing has changed, and after Sunday, it seems like nothing will ever change.
