Free Republic

One day after the Cleveland Browns' offense continued to crater in a 20-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, coach Kevin Stefanski again placed his support behind Deshaun Watson as the team's starting quarterback. "I think Deshaun gives us the best chance to win, continues to give us the best chance to win," Stefanski said Monday when asked why he wouldn't insert backup Jameis Winston as the starter. "We need to play really good offensive football at his position, and really at every position to be successful." In Sunday's defeat, Cleveland's fourth straight, the Browns became the first team since the...

The NFL has adjusted its rules to allow players the option of using Guardian Caps in regular-season games to enhance their protection against head injuries, the league confirmed Friday. The padded headgear was mandated for players at certain positions during training camp in 2022 and 2023. Speaking earlier this year, NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said that Guardian Caps have contributed to a nearly 50% reduction in concussions for the position groups that wore them during those time periods. In a statement provided Friday to ESPN, Miller said: "We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions...

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is mulling a future with 18 regular-season games, a Presidents Day weekend Super Bowl and a significant increase in international games. Goodell, during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Friday, shared his long-term vision, one that involves numerous changes to the season's current format. Specifically, Goodell said he would embrace a schedule featuring 18 regular-season games and two preseason contests, a significant shift from the current 17 regular-season and three preseason games that was implemented in 2021. Follow the 2024 NFL draft • Draftcast | First-round picks | Trades • Kiper on Round 1...

The NFL has announced that for the fourth year in a row, the so-called black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” will be performed at the Super Bowl. It appears we’ve come full circle since the 2004 Democratic National Convention when then-Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama said: “Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us … there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America — there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. …...

The NFL is doing its part to contribute to the current climate of racial divisiveness by once again featuring a rendition of the “Black National Anthem” at next month’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas. “Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, activist and acclaimed actress Andra Day will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Initially known for her 2016 Grammy-nominated behemoth, “Rise Up,” which amassed over 1 billion streams and an RIAA triple-platinum certification, Day has performed alongside numerous global artists and stars,” the league said in a press release. Country music superstar Reba McEntire will sing the real national anthem the league also...

The New England Patriots have filled a gap in the organization that was left behind when Bill Belichick and the team parted ways by hiring Jerod Mayo to be the team’s next head coach. Mayo, an African American coach, focused on his race and what he considered a “problem” in the NFL. Mayo is the fifteenth head coach in the New England Patriot’s history and has big shoes to fill, following directly on the heels of Bill Belichick, one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. Mayo was a first-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2008 and went on...

Leave it to our gigantic media conglomerates to double down on bad ideas. Repeating a controversial move from last year’s Super Bowl (and most recent sports events since 2020), the NFL has announced that they are, again, beginning the game with the so-called “Black National Anthem,” as well as the actual national anthem, at Super Bowl LVIII next month. As announced by Adam Schefter, an ESPN reporter and podcast host, on X (formerly Twitter), the NFL has chosen country legend Reba McEntire to sing the national anthem, rapper Post Malone (of all people) to sing “America the Beautiful,” and singer/actress...

I was just listening to the Wayne Allyn Root show on Las Vegas local station, KMZQ-AM. Root just advised that the Black National Anthem will be played at the Super Bowl next month, Feb. 11th, in Las Vegas. There should only be one national anthem. The Star Spangled Banner.

The NFL playoffs start this coming weekend and there’s one thing fans of all teams can agree on—it stinks that the NFL and NBC will be airing an AFC playoff game exclusively on Peacock. That’s right, if you want to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Miami Dolphins, you’ll have to subscribe to Peacock to see the game. The NFL has been getting into the streaming business the past few years, but this is the first time fans will have to pay extra to see a playoff game. And there’s a reason for that—money. Here’s how much NBC is...

SEATTLE -- After 14 seasons, 10 playoff appearances and the franchise's lone Super Bowl championship, Pete Carroll is out as the Seattle Seahawks' coach. Team owner Jody Allen said in a statement Wednesday that the decision was made "after thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise." Carroll will remain with the team in an unspecified advisory role. In an emotional farewell news conference Wednesday, Carroll, reading from a prepared statement, said he and ownership have "mutually agreed to set a new course." However, he said he "competed pretty hard" to remain Seattle's coach and that...

A record 51% of NFL team employees identify as people of color and/or women, the league revealed Thursday in advance of its quarterly owners meeting next week. The accounting includes people who work in football operations and business operations, as well as on coaching staffs and in executive roles. It does not include players or members of the league office. According to separate data, 57% of league office employees identify as people of color and/or women.

According to suit brought by Jim Trotter, Jerry Jones and Tery Pegula (r.) made racist comments about multiple issues. This morning, Pro Football Talk tweeted out the first look NFL fans have gotten at longtime NFL reporter Jim Trotter’s discrimination suit against the NFL. Trotter’s suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, names the National Football League and NFL Network, Trotter’s former employer, as defendants. The complaint filed on Trotter’s behalf spans a full 53 pages, but PFT tweeted out a few of the allegations contained therein, including allegations of statements that...

Ubangi is the name of a river in central Africa. In the Oxford handbook of African languages, based upon the typological resemblances with the Kwa-Kru languages, the author saw a relationship with the name/word to the Nigritic section of the Sudan languages. Ubangi is also the name of African peoples living in the Republic of the Congo in the Congo River Basin west of Mossaka. Ubangi is also an old slang word people from Wyoming called people from Utah, implying people from Utah slept with sheep. I take the time to make these tutorial distinctions, because W.C. Fields used the...

This year’s Super Bowl will feature the singing of Lift Every Voice and Sing, otherwise known as the black national anthem, before the start of this year’s game. The song will be sung before the U.S. national anthem. According to Mashable, “If the Super Bowl is your introduction to national treasure Sheryl Lee Ralph, welcome. The veteran singer-actress is set to take the Super Bowl stage Sunday to perform what is known as the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” She’s joined by country singer Chris Stapleton singing the national anthem and R&B star Babyface performing “America the...

Alvin Kamara — an All-Pro running back for the New Orleans Saints and multimillionaire — doxed a high school student for messaging him saying, “good game n***a.” Kamara responded by naming the teen’s high school to his millions of followers even though the teen, who seemed to be giving the running back a compliment, apologized multiple times. “If I snapshot this and send it to your coach… what happens,” Kamara replied. “My bad I didn’t think you actually received these I am a huge fan and have had you in fantasy every year,” the teen responded.

Former Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed, who spent nearly his entire career playing alongside a friend and fellow player charged with murder, believes that the $100,000 fine the Washington Commanders levied against defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio is “not enough.” On Friday, the Washington Commanders fined Del Rio $100,000 for referring to the January 6 Capitol riots as a “dust-up.” Del Rio had made the “dust-up” comment while addressing a tweet in which he questioned the emphasis the left has placed on the January 6 riots while seeming to not possess the same level of interest in prosecuting those who...

Green Bay Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy has a monthly column on the team website where he answers questions from fans and shareholders. It generally appears to be softball questions like any fun events planned for the shareholders meeting and the Paul McCartney concert was awesome, but for some reason this month's edition also featured an absolutely wild letter from a shareholder named Marilyn. She does not waste time getting to her point. Via Packers.com: A question from Marilyn, a longtime Packer fan and shareholder: "Out of the 11 players drafted by the Packers in the 2022 NFL Draft...

The NFL believes it has a problem with having too few minority coaches among its ranks. So, they’ve decided to solve this problem by ordering each team to hire a “diverse person” to their offensive coaching staff. The league informed teams of the new requirement in a memo sent Monday afternoon. “All NFL teams will be required to have a “diverse person (female or a member of an ethnic or racial minority)” on staff as an offensive assistant in 2022,” Dallas Morning News reporter Michael Gehlken wrote. “This position will be funded, in part, by a stipend from league office....

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told the league’s 32 teams Saturday that the results of the current hiring cycle for head coaches have been “unacceptable” with regard to diversity, saying the league will retain outside experts to help “reevaluate and examine all policies” guiding minority hiring. Goodell made his comments in a memo sent to the teams and all NFL employees four days after former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores sued the league and teams Tuesday, accusing them of racial discrimination. The NFL has only one active Black head coach. No Black head coaches have been hired so far this offseason...

The NFL caught RED HANDED funding RADICAL groups that call to ABOLISH THE POLICE and PRISONS! [13 minute video report]