The NFL opted to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day the way anyone would: Accusing Americans of being so racist that they view all black people as criminals.
The video was the brainchild of Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett. Titled “Reality vs. Perception,” the video is presented by Lockett and other NFL players. It starts off with players saying that black men see leadership, unity, and accountability when they look in the mirror, “just like you.”
Today, the @NFL celebrates the life of Martin Luther King Jr. #MLKDay
?: @gmfb pic.twitter.com/pJ0FNx1SFD
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 18, 2021
It’s a bizarre strategy to make it sound like you are bridging a racial divide by talking to the audience as if they are ardent racists. (It turns out that people of all races feel pain. Who knew?) But the longer the video goes, the worse it gets, openly accusing Americans of being dyed-in-the-wool racists.
“But what do you see, America? An entertainer, an athlete? What else do you see? A gangbanger, a drug dealer?” the athletes ask as the video goes on, asking why Americans don’t see black men as lawyers, doctors, teachers, fathers, sons, policeman, or other occupations. “Who says I can’t be those things? You, or society?”
The correct answer is that nobody is saying that. The NFL and its players are fighting a phantom, as they have been since the start of the season. They think racism lurks behind every tree in American life and that their fellow Americans are incapable of looking beyond it. This NFL-endorsed video now openly accuses everyone who isn’t black of being unthinking drones in an irredeemably racist society.
NFL players have continued to claim they want “unity” while dividing fans at every turn. Between protesting the flag and glorifying such men as Antwon Rose Jr. and Jacob Blake, NFL players have repeatedly shown that they are out of their depth.
The NFL’s desire to placate them has led it to endorse every ridiculous stance, but even the league is not immune from criticism. The Good Morning Football segment that followed the video saw the league again being hit because no black head coaches have been hired so far this offseason. It has always been a dumb criticism of the league, but the NFL has professed its guilt anyway.
Obsessing over race is not going to bring about unity or progress. You would think the NFL and its players would know this by now, given how badly they have divided fans. This video serves more as a denunciation of unity on Martin Luther King Jr. Day than an endorsement of it, and it’s troubling that the NFL is continuing to lean into this toxic worldview.
