Less than 24 hours after the NFL made an official statement about supporting Black Lives Matter causes, Roger Goddell, the Commissioner of the National Football League, issued a controversial statement about the kneeling protests that gained international attention. Years ago, Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the National Anthem as a silent protest against police brutality, and it was a move that was frowned upon by not only members of the league, but by many Americans, as well. There were threats of fines and suspensions for players who followed in Kaepernick's footsteps, and soon, the quarterback found himself blackballed from the very league he loved so dearly.
Yesterday (June 4), a video began to circulate that featured a number of black professional football players asking for the NFL to admit that they were wrong about how they handled the peaceful protests. In the caption of a tweet sent out today, the NFL wrote, "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."
Even with the admission, the league didn't specifically mention Kaepernick or how the football star's sports career has become non-existent. Colin Kaepernick's girlfriend, Nessa Diab, retweeted the clip of Goddell and had an additional thought. "And you @nflcommish STILL have @Kaepernick7 blackballed for peacefully protesting," she wrote. Many others agreed with her and matched her frustration with their tweets, as well. Check them out below.
Wendy Williams Wears Ivy Park While Blasting Jay Z & Beyoncé For Sitting During Anthem
She made her patriotism known while telling off the power couple.
The mania surrounding Super Bowl LIV is on the decline now that the Kansas City Chiefs have defeated the San Francisco 49ers. There are still many social media conversations being had about football’s biggest event of the year, including chatter about Jay Z and Beyoncé choosing not to stand during the National Anthem.
Gareth Cattermole / Staff / Getty Images
After announcing his partnership with the NFL last year, Jay Z took in some heavy criticism because of Colin Kaepernick‘s reported exclusion from the league following her “Take A Knee” protest. At the time, Jay stated, “We forget that Colin’s whole thing was to bring attention to social injustice. In that case, this is a success This is the next phase. There [are] two parts of protesting. You go outside and you protest, and then the company or individual says, ‘I hear you. What do we do next?’”
Both Kaepernick and his partner Nessa Diab questioned Jay and Bey staying seated during America’s Anthem, and on Monday’s episode of her show, Wendy Williams took aim at the power couple, as well. “I don’t know about you, and our country may be in a bad way, but there’s no place I’d rather live than in America,” Wendy said. “Jay, you might be an NFL owner [technically, he’s a partner, not an owner] but you don’t own all of the NFL.”
The talk show host then stood up to show off her Beyoncé-gifted outfit. “And Beyonce, I love my Ivy Park,” Wendy said as the audience cheered. She added that while she was getting ready a member of her team asked if she was planning on going after Jay and Bey, and if so, advised her to change her outfit. Wendy declined.
“You understand that all eyes were on you, you should’ve stood up,” Wendy said directly to the ouple. “If you don’t like our country, then…” she added before crossing her arms and shrugging her shoulders. Watch the clip below.
