The National Football League has lost millions of fans and seen its profits and ratings tank as a result of the “#takeaknee protests that spread across the league in the first few weeks of the season.
But thanks to a new commitment to social justice issues, borne out of the Colin Kaepernick-led protests, the NFL will actually take part in a training program that will help to focus the next generation of activist athletes looking to make a “social justice” difference.
The “Advocacy in Sport” workshop, presented by the NFL in concert with Morehouse College, will teach student athletes “how to develop and implement effective advocacy platforms that positively impact society,” according to Campus Reform.
The NFL even issued a press release trumpeting the new effort. “This historic workshop is aimed at training the next generation of athletes who wish to use sport as a powerful platform for advocacy,” the statement read. “Our partnership is designed to equip athletes as influencers and community leaders with the mechanics to develop their advocacy platform.”
Both the NFL and Morehouse have been working on the worshop since 2016, when Colin Kapernick announced his decision to kneel during the national anthem. A joint project announcement noted that the two entities will keep working together, “harnessing the unifying power of sports to improve race relations and drive social progress.”
Hopefully, the workshop works out better for the NFL than the protests themselves.