The NFL apparently will step up its social justice game for Week 1 of its 2020 season.
The league is planning “extensive content around social injustice” for their opening week of games, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. This comes as protests over the issue continue across the United States following the deaths of unarmed Black citizens like Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, among others.
Personalized poems and first-person vignettes from players, which would be shared via game-day broadcasts, reportedly are at the top of the list.
The NFL also plans on recognizing victims of police brutality with special decals on the back of players’ helmets and playing the song “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” (known as the Black national anthem) before teams’ season-opening games, as ESPN’s Jason Reid originally reported in July.
The NFL has also announced plans to paint the phrases “It Takes All of Us” and “End Racism” on all end zones before home openers, per a July memo.
The NFL kicks off its season Thursday, Sept. 10.
