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"The white supremacist institution of policing that stole Breonna Taylor’s life from us must be abolished for the safety and well being of our people. #BreonnaTaylor #SayHerName #AbolishThePolice," Kaepernick wrote on Twitter.

[snip] Some of the team plans seemed more haphazard than Week One’s careful coordination. The Tennessee Titans were in the middle of pre-game warmups when the song started, causing the team to rush to the sidelines. Titans linebacker Rashaan Evans, safety Kenny Vaccaro, and defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney took a knee, while defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons held his right fist in the air. Titans left guard Rodger Saffold knelt with center Ben Jones with his right hand on Saffold’s back. Right guard Nate Davis took a knee, as right tackle Dennis Kelly’s rested his left hand on Davis’ right shoulder....

It all seems par for the course for Cleveland. Baker Mayfield bounced back from a rough first week to lead the Cleveland Browns over the Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals, 35-30, on Thursday night. And approximately 6,000 fans were fortunate enough to watch in person when Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced earlier this month that 6,000 could attend despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The Browns (1-1) prepared fans with a detailed video on their website that delved into social distancing and safety protocols for FirstEnergy Stadium. Everyone attending had to sign a “health promise” and had specific entry times and locations. There...

Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Maurkice Pouncey is expressing remorse over wearing a helmet tribute to a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by police ... saying he didn't know the whole story. "I want to personally clarify what transpired this past Monday night in regard to having Antwon Rose's name on the back of my helmet," Pouncey says. "I was given limited information on the situation regarding Antwon, and I was unaware of the whole story surrounding his death and what transpired during the trial following the tragedy." Remember, on Monday the Steelers announced the entire team and coaching staff would honor Rose...

After the first week of the NFL season, New York Jets Coach Adam Gase has managed to move into first place. Unfortunately for him, it’s not in the AFC East standings — but rather in the betting odds on the first NFL head coach to be fired. Or, as gambling website Bovada lists it in a semantic device that accounts for coaches possibly being allowed to step down from their jobs to save face, Gase now stands atop the field in the category of “First coach to permanently leave his post.”

SoFi Stadium was devoid of fans on last night’s Sunday Night Football due to the coronavirus pandemic, but full of victory for hometown heroes the Los Angeles Rams. Sadly that winning feeling wasn’t reflected in the ratings for NBC and the NFL. The team’s first game at their new $5 billion digs saw the Rams take down the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 in a grinding battle. It was also a game that saw Rams’ running back Malcolm Brown score two touchdowns and nail a career topping 79 yards. Fighting right to the end against that wall of the Rams’ defense in...

Not bad for the worst team in the NFL. Panned, picked apart, ridiculed and accused of tanking for the top pick in next year’s NFL draft, the Jaguars made the only statement that mattered Sunday. They’re 1-0.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles will both start their respective NFL schedules without fans in the stands when they play at Heinz Field and Lincoln Financial Field, respectively. What will it take for that to change? Health Department Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine weighed in on Friday, just days before both teams play their season openers on the road and two weeks before each plays a home game amid the coronavirus pandemic. Both franchises have said that they won’t have fans in attendance until at least the end of September, but each said in emails to their season ticket holders...

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging across America, this year’s NFL season opener was as different as night and day in many ways from the 100th season kickoff in 2019. For one thing, as reigning Super Bowl champs the Kansas City Chiefs pummeled the Houston Texans 34-20, the ratings were down – a lot. In early numbers, the primetime NBC game scored a 5.2 among adults 18-49 and 16.4 million viewers between 8 – 11 PM ET. Now, those numbers for the 8:25 – 11:30 PM ET game itself will certainly be adjusted upward later, but right now that’s a...

Most Chiefs players stood, locking arms on the sideline for the national anthem. At least one Chiefs player knelt and raised a fist. Players locked arm-and-arm across the goal line for the Black national anthem. Texans players were not on the field for either “The Star-Spangled Banner” or the Black national anthem.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, players may display the names of victims of police violence and/or systemic racism on the padding along the bottom of the backs of their helmets. It’s a full-season endeavor, and an important tangible effort by the NFL to allow the uniform to carry clear messages of social justice.

Packers CEO Mark Murphy issued a lengthy statement on Saturday, saying that one of the “keys” in the fight for social justice was for “white people” in “positions of power,” to get more involved in making a “difference.” The statement comes amid ongoing protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and nationwide, after the officer-involved shooting of Jacob Blake last week. Kenosha is just over 150 miles south of Green Bay. Murphy wrote: Racially motivated events over the last couple months have had an impact on our entire organization, particularly the horrific shooting of Jacob Blake. I met with our players and coaches...

Former Jets coach Pete Carroll — now head coach for the Seattle Seahawks — got political on Saturday, delivering an impassioned plea against racism. Carroll, 68, called on other coaches to use their platforms to speak out against social justice and stressed the need to vote in November and for white people to finally listen to the people of color around them. “This is about racism in America that white people don’t know,” the Super Bowl-winning coach said during a nearly 15-minute monologue.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a recent interview that players’ kneeling protests against racial injustice during the national anthem are “not about the flag," adding that he wishes the league listened to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sooner when it came to the matter. Goodell made the comments in an interview with former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho on his YouTube series "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man," that went live on Sunday. In the interview, Acho pressed the commissioner about a statement he made in early June apologizing for the league’s past handling of the kneeling...

Shortly after running back Derrius Guice was arrested Friday on domestic violence-related charges, the Washington Football Team announced it was releasing the 23-year-old running back. Guice faces charges that include one count of strangulation, a felony, according to a spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The other charges are three counts of assault and battery as well as one count of destruction of property... Washington selected Guice in the second round of the 2018 draft after the running back fell out of the first round because of questions about his maturity and durability. At the time, the team felt...

STEPHON TUITT Prediction: Lots and lots of his teammates will have a problem with it. Remember what happened when Alejandro Villanueva simply got caught in the open during the anthem three years ago? His Pittsburgh Steeler teammates threw him under the bus for not getting out of sight, and after a brief spike in Villanueva jersey sales, the lineman ended up issuing a public apology.Stephon Tuitt has decided to dispense with the whole apology approach up front. In fact, Tuitt invites anyone who objects to perform an unnatural act on themselves: Also I’m not kneeling for the flag and screw...

President Donald Trump reiterated his disdain for professional athletes protesting racism by kneeling during the national anthem early Tuesday morning just hours after the San Francisco Giants' Gabe Kapler became the first major league manager to do so alongside his players. 'Looking forward to live sports, but any time I witness a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag, the game is over for me!' Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. Beginning in September of 2017, when Trump first seized upon the issue during a rally in Alabama, the President has repeatedly...

Rumors flew after the Redskins announced they were conducting a “thorough review” of their name, that the team could perhaps come up with a new name before the start of the 2020 season. Now, a new report suggests that the name change could come very soon indeed. According to Ben Fischer of Sports Business Daily, sources within the organization say that the team “intends to select a new nickname as soon as possible.” As Fischer writes, a person bidding for a minority share of the team has received personal assurances that the name will be changed. Fischer also cites a...

Colin Kaepernick issued a fierce rebuke of Independence Day, slamming the 'celebration of white supremacy' and calling out America for 'centuries' of abuse against black people.'Black ppl have been dehumanized, brutalized, criminalized + terrorized by America for centuries, & are expected to join your commemoration of 'independence', while you enslaved our ancestors,' Kaepernick said in his tweet. 'We reject your celebration of white supremacy & look forward to liberation for all.

Nothing more than the announcement.