Hold the NFL to its word with its new Inspire Change slogan

For years, the NFL has displayed the BLM logo and related themes on the backs of helmets and in the backs of end zones during games.  This and a cool $200+ million in protection money to BLM and related causes keep unfavorable press, boycotters, and rioters away.

I wish a few real reporters would ask the NFL why fans seeking an escape to sports must be subjected to political slogans during games, and whether the NFL promoting the BLM logo means it shares BLM’s pro-Marxist vision for America; has no problem with the grift of several of its founders; and is OK with the riots, destruction, and death promoted by it.

Well, it looks as though the NFL has moved on to its next social justice initiative, Inspire Change.  Much of it, at least in name, seems admirable: Education, Economic Advancement, Community-Police Relations, Criminal Justice Reform.  (According to the description, this last includes reforms to pre-trial detention, which could mean letting dangerous criminals remain out of jail until completion of the trial.)  Starting Week 15 of this NFL season (this past week), the NFL is promoting new apparel to go with the initiative:

Additionally, the NFL has again worked with Nike and New Era to provide Inspire Change branded gear for coaches, players, and all sideline personnel, including sweatshirts, fitted caps, snap backs, flexfits, knits and adjustable headwear. The New Era collection features several silhouettes with all 32 clubs represented and is available for purchase at NewEraCap.com, NFLShop.com, and Fanatics. Proceeds from the sale of Inspire Change merchandise fund grants in under-resourced communities.

See the collection here.

Here’s what the hoodie looks like:

I guess the slogan is more beautiful when it’s hard to read.  It says,

Justice
Opportunity
Freedom
Equity.

Below that, it seems to say, “NFL = Nike.”

Mike Tomlin, coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, was wearing such apparel during the past week’s losing effort against the Indianapolis Colts and post-game press conference, and at least a chunk of the X (formerly Twitter) world was, how shall we say, unimpressed at his seemingly greater emphasis on social justice messaging than on trying to avoid being eliminated from playoff contention.

Well, here’s a problem with the slogan.  We all know by now that “equality” means equal opportunity, whereas “equity” (the “E” in DIE) means equal outcomes.  As an example of the latter, the crew designing and building a human space flight vehicle has to have the right mix of intersectional minorities rather than the best scientists and engineers, results be damned.  The NFL cannot claim that “Equity” is being used loosely to mean “Opportunity,” because the latter appears above the former in the slogan.  So the NFL means what it says, at least in virtue-signaling.

Now let’s hold the NFL to its own standards.  Last I checked, NFL teams still have disproportionately too many white head coaches and place kickers, and disproportionately too many black running backs, wide receivers, and cornerbacks.  This blatant racism needs to be addressed immediately.  So for starters, consider removing whites Eric Reid and Justin Tucker, and blacks Saquon Barkley, Tyreek Hill, and Sauce Gardner.  In the name of equity.

Whenever you call them out in this way, they hem and haw and stumble with a response along the lines of, oh, when we say “equity,” we don’t really mean for everyone, we mean only for historically discriminated groups, so it’s OK if those groups have greater than proportional representation (they never say when that will end).  This may conveniently get the NBA off the hook, but not the NFL from replacing the whites in the above categories.  We’re waiting.  In the name of equity.

W.A. Eliot is a pseudonym.

Image: Marco Verch Professional Photographer via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).