16945: The End Of ‘End Racism’ In End Zones…?

 

NBC News reported the NFL will delete ‘End Racism’ from the end zones for the Super Bowl.

 

It’s unclear if the end zones edit was made to appease President Donald J. Trump—scheduled to attend the game—who has expressed his disdain for all DEIBA+ initiatives.

 

Somebody should invite Colin Kaepernick to take a knee during the opening ceremonies.

 

NFL will remove ‘End Racism’ from the end zones ahead of Super Bowl

 

The announcement comes the same day a White House official told NBC News that President Donald Trump would be attending the game.

 

By Kyla Guilfoil

 

The NFL will remove the words “End Racism” from the end zones at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, the NFL confirmed to NBC News.

 

Instead, the field will have stencils of the phrase “Choose Love” as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement Tuesday.

 

Throughout the 2024-25 season, NFL teams have advertised pro-diversity slogans at their stadiums and on their uniforms. The field stencils have been a part of the league since 2020, McCarthy said.

 

“Teams have used on the field this year ‘Vote,’ ‘End Racism,’ ‘Stop Hate,’ and ‘Choose Love.’ This is part of the NFL’s Inspire Change,” he said.

 

At their conference championship games on Jan. 26, the Chiefs had “Choose Love” in their end zone and the Eagles had “End Racism.”

 

The NFL said Tuesday that it would have stenciling only of the phrase “Choose Love.” Sunday’s game will be the first Super Bowl since February 2021 at which “End Racism” will not be in an end zone stencil.

 

“The Super Bowl is often a snapshot in time and the NFL is in a unique position to capture and lift the imagination of the country,” McCarthy said.

 

He said the phrase is most fitting because of tragedies the country has endured in recent weeks.

 

“‘Choose Love’ is appropriate to use as our country has endured in recent weeks wild fires in southern California, the terrorist attack here in New Orleans, the plane and helicopter crash near our nation’s capital and the plane crash in Philadelphia,” McCarthy said.

 

The statement comes the same day a White House official told NBC News that President Donald Trump will attend the Super Bowl.

 

The Secret Service said in a statement that “extensive planning and coordination have been in place to ensure the safety of all attendees, players, and staff,” with security measures having been “further enhanced this year, given that this will be the first time a sitting President of the United States will attend the event.”

 

“The U.S. Secret Service has been on the ground for days, working in close collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, as well as the NFL, to implement a comprehensive security plan,” said Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service’s communications chief.

 

Trump has made his stance against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives clear since he took, signing an executive order on his first day in office to end DEI programs in federal agencies and putting employees in those programs on leave.

 

After the deadly midair collision of an American Airlines plane and Army Black Hawk helicopter in the Washington, D.C., area last week — which McCarthy cited as one of the tragedies inspiring the “Choose Love” slogan — Trump again took aim at DEI, implying diversity policies were at fault for the disaster.

 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at a news conference Monday that he does not think the league’s policies to promote diversity conflict with Trump’s push to eliminate DEI programs.

 

“Our policies have been designed to be well within the law, well within the practice,” Goodell said. “There are no quotas in our system. This is about opening that funnel and bringing the best talent into the NFL.”

 

He added that the NFL’s policies are consistent “with the current administration, as well as the last administration.”

 

“We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League, and we’re going to continue those efforts because we’ve not only convinced ourselves, I think we’ve proven ourselves, that it does make the NFL better,” Goodell said.  

16873: Overreaction Of The Week.

MediaPost spotlighted a new campaign—#TimeOut Against Hate—designed to combat antisemitism and other forms of hate.

 

The messages involve multiple sports leagues—including the NFL, WNBA, NBA, MLB, MLS, NWSL, NHL, and NASCAR—turning competitive timeouts into national calls against hate.

 

Um, how come Colin Kaepernick taking a knee to call out racial injustice stirred outrage—but this stunt is okay?

 

Robert Kraft’s Antisemitism Group Unveils #TimeOut Against Hate Campaign

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Earlier this year Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) aired an ad in the Super Bowl featuring civil rights leader Clarence B. Jones. The theme of the ad was that the silence of those who know better allows hate to foster and spread.  

 

Now the group has formed an alliance with multiple sports leagues and some well-known coaches, players and personalities – including NFL head coaches Andy Reid and Jim Harbaugh and former NBA great Shaquille O’Neal – for a new campaign that will air during pro and college sports games and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade over the Thanksgiving holiday break and beyond.

 

The new campaign is called #TimeOut Against Hate, aimed at turning the frequently called for pause in sports contests into a national call against hate. 

 

The new ad spot and campaign is the first of its kind in uniting major sports leagues, their commissioners, and star athletes and managers to champion the fight against hate.    

 

The campaign is from WPP’s VML and stemmed from a closed-door meeting with Kraft and major sports commissioners earlier this year as an opportunity for each league and its teams to take a larger, active role in propelling the fight against antisemitism and other forms of hate. Participating leagues in the NFL, WNBA, NBA, MLB, MLS, NWSL, NHL and NASCAR.

 

WPP’s Mindshare is the media partner for this campaign, with media activations including:   

 

# Real-time timeout ads – dynamic streaming placements that are triggered in real-time by timeouts in NFL and college games. When someone calls a timeout in select games, the 30-second spot then starts playing in streaming. These dynamic insertion placements will be in rotation across NFL and NCAA games through December.     

 

# Content partnerships – with content creators and media voices such as three of iHeart’s top sports podcasters (LaVar Arrington, Doug Gottlieb, and Julian Edelman), as well as @dudewithsign on Instagram; the iHeart activations were launched in mid- November.    

 

# Live sports broadcast coverage – the 30-second spot has started playing in various games and leagues across Amazon Prime, ESPN, Fox, NBC, ABC, and will continue over the next few months.

15597: Ben & Jerry’s & Colin Kaepernick’s.

 

Now available at concession stands in participating NFL stadiums…?

13529: Super Bowl LIes.

The New York Times published a “live briefing” titled: Super Bowl Commercials: Immigration and Diversity Show Up in Some Ads. TBWA\Chiat\Day New York CEO Rob Schwartz declared, “If there’s anything that’s screaming out here, it’s diversity.” Um, it’s technically faux diversity—with a mix of diverted diversity—given that the majority of Super Bowl commercials were created by the majority of Madison Avenue. That is, White men and White women continue to dominate the advertising field, as well as the football field, in regards to the spots running during the NFL championship game. Wonder how Colin Kaepernick would respond to the discriminatory exclusivity.

12348: Kaepernick’s Offensive Karma.

Was the San Francisco 49ers’ failure to make the playoffs after four straight years of post-season success—as well as the departure of Coach Jim Harbaugh—tied to Offensive Karma sparked by Quarterback Colin Kaepernick during a September loss to the Chicago Bears? Hey, it’s the only possible explanation currently out there.

12096: Offensive Karma & Kaepernick, 2.

DiversityInc reported on the controversy surrounding San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick allegedly directing the N-word towards Chicago Bears Defensive Lineman Lamarr Houston. Did he or didn’t he? Kaepernick denied any wrongdoing and is appealing the $11,025 fine that the league slapped on him. Houston stated that Kaepernick did indeed use the slur. Hopefully, there will be some official clarity, as Offensive Karma is at play here.

Did NFL Fine Colin Kaepernick for Using N-Word?

By Chris Hoenig

It appears that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick may be the first player fined by the NFL for using the N-word on the field.

Kaepernick was fined $11,025 by the NFL last week for “direct[ing] abuse language toward” an opponent in the fourth quarter of the 49ers Week 2 matchup against the Chicago Bears, but the league did not provide any additional details. FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer reported that referees have said that Kaepernick directed the N-word at Bears defensive lineman Lamarr Houston.

Kaepernick, without going into any detail about what he was accused of saying, told reporters he planned to appeal the fine and that he had not done or said anything to warrant it.

“I didn’t say anything,” Kaepernick told reporters after the game, adding he was shocked when it was announced over the stadium PA that he was being penalized for “inappropriate language.”

The incident happened after Kaepernick threw the first of two late interceptions that helped spark the Bears’ 28-20 come-from-behind victory. As he celebrated Kyle Fuller’s interception, Houston jawed with Kaepernick, who shoved the 6’3”, 300-pound lineman and appeared to send a response his way.

Houston initially said publicly that he did not hear anything from Kaepernick, focusing instead on his own comment to the quarterback. “I said, ‘Nice pass,’” Houston told the Chicago Tribune.

“It will be appealed,” Kaepernick said after the fine was announced. “I didn’t say anything. Lamarr Houston said I didn’t say anything. We’re going to leave it at that.”

Kaepernick is biracial, but was adopted by a white couple when he was just a few weeks old.

Houston admitted after Glazer’s report went public, however, that Kaepernick did indeed use the N-word and curse at him.

“He was just saying inappropriate language,” Houston told the Chicago Tribune after the Bears beat the Jets in Week 3 on Monday Night Football—a game in which Houston himself was flagged for using inappropriate language toward an official. Asked if he was insulted, Houston said it was “a cultural thing.”

“I don’t know,” Houston said when asked about Monday night’s penalty. “[Umpire Tony Michalek] thought I cussed at him, but all I said was ‘Back up’ because he was all up on Willie [Young] and I just told him to back up some. I guess he was intimidated by it or whatever.”

The quick, decisive action by NFL brass to fine Kaepernick counters the league’s abysmal handling of the domestic-abuse allegations levied against several players in the past several months.

During the offseason, NFL owners weighed whether to implement an automatic 15-yard penalty for using the N-word—and other racial, ethnic and homophobic slurs—on the field.

Last July, a tape emerged that showed Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper using the N-word at a Kenny Chesney concert. His tirade allegedly began after a security guard, who was Black, did not allow him backstage.

The team fined Cooper an undisclosed amount (though the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement reportedly limits the fine to just over $37,000), but the league took no additional action.