Roger Goodell came through with a massive statement this past week as he released a video in which he claims the NFL stands with protesters and that the league was wrong about kneeling for the anthem. Goodell noted that he wants to protest with the players now and that the NFL is committed to fighting against racial injustice. The commissioner even said that the league wouldn’t be anything without black players which is very true considering 70 percent of the league is black. 

According to Pro Football Talk, many owners were unaware that this statement was going to be made. In the report, it notes that there is a small group of powerful owners in the league and that Goodell usually runs stuff by them first. After getting approval from his small circle of owners, Goodell posted the video without notifying the other owners. 

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Per Pro Football Talk:

“The “few owners” undoubtedly were the most powerful of the owners, the ones who actually run the league and the ones with whom Goodell communicates most frequently. The rest, the ones who don’t run the league, didn’t get advance notice.”

Many players throughout the NFL have been speaking up against police brutality while others have even taken part in the protests themselves. With this in mind, it’s clear that the league will have a lot of peaceful protests happening on the field when the next season starts back up.

[Via]