The NFL will close all of its facilities on Election Day to ensure employees can vote on Nov. 3.
The closure is one of several steps the league is taking to act on its wider “commitment to social justice and equality.” The NFL will sponsor a host of voting initiatives, including sponsoring voter education programs for employees and working with election officials to establish polling places at stadiums.
On Sept. 9, the NFL will broadcast a one-hour program on NBC, during which “players and allies” will promote the projects the NFL has undertaken “to advance social justice and equality.” The league also said that teams will “facilitate meetings between state and local elected officials and leaders of law enforcement, to discuss steps that can be taken.”
The NFL has taken steps to bolster its social justice credentials in recent weeks. In a joint statement with the player’s association, the league expressed its “anger and frustration” after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The league vowed that it “will continue to not only use our collective platform to call out racism and injustice whenever and wherever it occurs in our country, but also fight together to eradicate it.”
On Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the league would feature social justice messages in the end zones. The phrases “it Takes All Of Us” and “End Racism” will be in every NFL stadium when the season begins next week.
“We will not relent in our work. … Confronting recent systemic racism with tangible and productive steps is absolutely essential,” Goodell said. “We will redouble our efforts to be catalysts for the urgent and sustainable change that our society and communities so desperately need.”
In June, Goodell apologized for opposing players’ kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner” and expressed condolences to the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange pic.twitter.com/ENWQP8A0sv
— NFL (@NFL) June 5, 2020
