FinalizeThere is a long overdue conversation about race happening in the NFL. That conversation will not be a linear one or an easy one, given that the NFL carries the same history of shame as so many American institutions when it comes to its treatment of Black men, from its laughable history of hiring them for coaching and front office jobs to its sometimes subtle, sometimes grimly obvious history of treating players like commodities.
This time, a conversation that has not gotten enough traction appears to be going somewhere. The NFL took the unusual step of actually admitting it was wrong about player protests in 2016 and beyond, and the ferocious advocacy and calls for the NFL to do something from players is driving frank, frankly overdue conversations in the league office and elsewhere.