Roger Goodell and the NFL have been looking to make amends for the mistakes they have made over the past four years. When Colin Kaepernick and others began kneeling for the National Anthem, they were immediately talked down upon with many saying that their protests were disrespectful. Eventually, Kaepernick was somewhat blackballed from the league and the NFL has fallen out of favor with many black fans, since. Last week, Goodell tried to rectify this by releasing a video in which he apologizes for the league's mistakes and claims he plans to protest with players. In addition, the league is donating $250 million over the next 10 years to combat systemic racism.
Today, Goodell took the league's new philosophy one step further as they have announced that Juneteenth will now be a league-wide holiday. For those unaware, Juneteenth refers to June 19th which is the day America officially freed the slaves following the Civil War.
The NFL isn't the only company to make a similar announcement. Just yesterday, Nike revealed their plans to make Juneteenth a paid holiday for all Nike employees. Over the past few weeks, many brands have actively announced new initiatives to recognize systemic racism and it seems like some real progress has been made.
Hopefully, these initiatives keep on coming and they aren't simply trends of the moment.