In a statement, U.S. football said its board of directors voted Tuesday to repeal their policy, which was established after U.S. national team midfielder Megan Rapinoe knelt in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick’s protests. Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers striker, started kneeling before the 2016 games and has remained un attributed to the team since 2017.
“We have not done enough to listen – especially to our players – to understand and appreciate the very real and meaningful experiences of blacks and other minority communities in our country,” the Football Association said in a statement. “We apologize to our players – especially our black players – the staff, the fans and everyone who supports the eradication of racism.”
The federation said it had not yet effectively used its platform to address issues such as racism, discrimination and inequality, and was seduced to do so in the future.
“We are here for our players and we are ready to support them in increasing their efforts to achieve social justice. We cannot change the past, but we can make a change in the future. We are committed to change in this intention and will be supporting activities in the near future. “, it is stated in the statement.
The NFL admits it was wrong
Earlier this month, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league should have listened to its players earlier about concerns about racism.
“We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong not to listen to NFL players before and encourage everyone to speak openly and protest peacefully,” Goodell said.
But the commissioner faced criticism for what he did not say: Goodell did not mention Kaepernick, who saw strong rebounds after peaceful protests on the ground.
“I think if they sign Kaep back, it will show that they’re really trying to move in a different direction,” Carlos Hyde, the new Seattle Seahawks signatory, said earlier. “Because Kaep was giving a statement four years ago about what’s going on in today’s world, and the NFL wasn’t listening to him then, so I think we should start with that.”
CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.
Communicator. Reader. Hipster-friendly introvert. General zombie specialist. Tv trailblazer