NFL Makes Juneteenth A League Holiday

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June 13, 2020

TOPLINE

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Friday in an internal memo to staff that the league will observe Juneteenth next Friday, June 19, as a company-wide holiday, with NFL offices closing on that day.

MANHATTAN, NY – JUNE 04: A Caucasian protester holds a sign that says,”Do You Understand Yet?” with … [+] a picture of Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, taking a knee with a Black Power Fist on in the middle of his jersey with the Arches of the Brooklyn Bridge behind them as they walk across the Brooklyn Bridge in protest of police racism. Protesters walked from Brooklyn to Manhattan after a memorial ceremony in Brooklyn with Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd. Protesters have taken to the streets across America and around the world after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer Derek Chauvin that was kneeling on his neck during his arrest as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. The protest are attempting to give a voice to the need for human rights for African American’s and to stop police brutality against people of color. Many people were wearing masks and observing social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic. Terrence Floyd echoed the word of peaceful protest saying that violent protests are overshadowing What’s Going On. New York City remains in a curfew as an answer to nights of unrest looting and destruction. Photographed in the Manhattan Borough of New York on June 04, 2020, USA. (Photo by Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images)

Corbis via Getty Images

KEY FACTS

Juneteenth, short for June 19, is a holiday marking the end of slavery in America.

The announcement is yet another attempt by the NFL in recent days to improve its relationship with black players and fans.

Last Friday, Goodell issued an apology via video message, stating, “We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”

In 2018, the league announced it would issue fines if players knelt during the playing of the anthem to protest racial injustice, claiming that “protests created a false perception among many that thousands of NFL players were unpatriotic.”

Goodell’s apology video came less than 24 hours after more than a dozen NFL stars took to social media to send a passionate message to the league about racial inequality following a wave of protests over police brutality toward minorities touched off by the death of George Floyd.

On Thursday, the NFL announced it was committing $250 million over a 10-year period to a fund to combat systemic racism.

Critical Quote:

“This year, as we work together as a family and in our communities to combat the racial injustices that remain deeply rooted into the fabric of our society, the NFL will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19th as a recognized holiday and our league offices will be closed,” Goodell wrote in Friday’s memo. “It is a day to reflect on our past, but more importantly, consider how each one of us can continue to show up and band together to work toward a better future.”

Key Background:

The NFL joins a growing list of companies that have publicly declared plans recently to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. Twitter and Square made such announcements earlier this week. Nike CEO John Donahoe said in an internal memo Thursday that the company will make Juneteenth a company-wide annual paid holiday. In the European sports world, the Premier League said Friday that players’ names would be replaced on the back of their jersey’s with ‘Black Lives Matter’ for the first 12 matches of the restarted season.

NFL Makes Juneteenth A League Holiday

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