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Donald Trump has long had two cherished American institutions standing beside him as he railed against athletes taking a knee during the national anthem: NASCAR and the NFL. This week, they both started to walk away. Bending to the cultural moment, NASCAR and the NFL in recent days reversed course on their approach to athletes protesting racial injustice. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he had been wrong for not listening to protesting players earlier and encouraged “all to speak out and peacefully protest.” Meanwhile, NASCAR relaxed rules barring kneeling during the national anthem and banned Confederate flags from its events....

Houston Texans head coach and general manager Bill O'Brien says he'll take a knee during the national anthem next season with his players to protest racial inequality and police brutality. "Yeah, I'll take a knee -- I'm all for it," O'Brien told the Houston Chronicle. "The players have a right to protest, a right to be heard and a right to be who they are. They're not taking a knee because they're against our flag. They're taking a knee because they haven't been treated equally in this country for over 400 years."

The NFL is committing $250 million over 10 years to social justice initiatives, targeting what it calls “systemic racism” and supporting “the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African Americans.” The league, which has raised $44 million in donations through its Inspire Change program, announced the additional $206 million commitment Thursday. It plans to “work collaboratively with NFL players to support programs to address criminal justice reform, police reforms, and economic and educational advancement.”

The NFL says it is sorry. The same league that pushed back and punished Colin Kaepernick for his peaceful protest against police brutality and social injustice now wants to join in and help the same cause.

An unprecedented week in the NFL culminated in a landscape-shifting 24 hours that appear to have dramatically changed the league's stance on player protests. Things are happening quickly, and you surely have questions. Is kneeling during the national anthem OK now? Does Colin Kaepernick have a chance to get back in? What role do politics play in all of this? Let's try and bring it all together. In a video message released Friday night, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell responded to a video released Thursday night by a collection of NFL stars including Michael Thomas, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Goodell's...

To @realdonaldtrump Through my ongoing conversations with friends, teammates, and leaders in the black community, I realize this is not an issue about the American flag. It has never been. We can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities. We did this back in 2017, and regretfully I brought it back with my comments this week. We must stop talking about the flag and shift our attention to the real issues of systemic racial injustice, economic oppression, police brutality, and judicial & prison reform. We are...

A few minutes ago from the spineless Roger Goodell We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange

Yesterday, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was asked by a journalist if he would be taking a knee during the National Anthem now. In the past, he has declined to. He said: I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States.

hen I was an executive in the National Football League a few years ago, our organization was consumed by the case of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback whose silent kneeling protest against police brutality arguably led him to lose his NFL career and not be re-signed by any club. No teams wanted to sign a player -- even one as talented as Kaepernick -- whom they saw as controversial, and, therefore, bad for business.

Stadiums may be empty when/if football starts its season this fall, but some games probably won’t look or sound that way. Fox is exploring ways to fill the empty National Football League venues with digitally-added fans and crowd noises, Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck said during an interview on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM radio show. “I think Fox and these networks have to put crowd noise under us to make it a normal viewing experience at home,” USA Today reports Buck said, adding that the audio component was “pretty much a done deal.” He added: “I think whoever’s going to be...

The NFL has spent the pandemic proceeding as if football will kick off as normal this fall. But despite the three-day virtual draft, despite the mega-hyped, fixed-date schedule release, despite all the public-facing optimism, the truth is this: The NFL isn’t in charge here. COVID-19 is. That’s the conclusion of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institutes for Health and the leading authoritative voice on COVID-19 in America. Speaking to NBC’s Peter King this weekend, Fauci did not mince words: If the country is at the point in September where we are right now, there will be no...

RUSH: How many of you last night watched the NFL draft? Brian, you did? You watched it? I know Mr. Snerdley didn’t. Was it on in your house, Dawn? I didn’t even think to turn it on. I have read about the draft, however. No, I’ve never been much of a draft guy anyway. It’s never held the — even at the top, at the peak of my NFL Fanboy existence, the draft was always, eh, meh, no big deal to me. The vast majority of people chosen are never gonna make it so it’s just — but I know...

The talk of the first round was Green Bay drafting Utah State QB Jordan Love. I was listening to sports radio and the Packers during the Rogers era has used their first round pick for an offensive player once: OL Brian Bulaga. Among some notable names still available: QB: Jalen Hurts, Jacob Eason, and Janke Fromm. (Given Fromm's lack of physical tools he is more likely a Day 3 pick) RB: D'Andre Swift, JK Dobbins, Jonathan Taylor WR: Michael Pittman, Tee Higgins, Denzel Mims, Chase Claypool, and Laviska Shenault DB: Grant Delpit

I feel strange. I’m rooting for ABC to show me some hope. Good start IMO.

President Donald Trump told major league sports commissioners in a conference call that he believes the NFL season should start as scheduled in September, ESPN's Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday. On the call, Trump also said he wants fans back in sporting venues by August and September, according to the report. The August and September dates correspond with the kickoff to both college football and the NFL seasons. Medical experts have not yet publicly said if that timeline is a viable one. LSU football is supposed to open its 2020 season on Sept. 5 against UT San...

Quite a bit has changed in the NFL since our last mock draft from three weeks ago. Free agency kickstarted a whirlwind of movement. (Tom Brady is with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers!) Compensatory picks were announced. Two first-round picks were traded. And, oh yeah, the entire draft process was altered dramatically with the eliminations of remaining pro days, top-30 visits and other in-person meetings between prospects and clubs because of the coronavirus outbreak. So, yes, we have some changes.

Musician Jennifer Lopez spoke out about the kids in cages part of her Super Bowl LIV halftime show. “Other people can try to build walls, keep us out or put us in cages. We are proud to recognize that all of us together are what makes this beautiful country truly great.” Lopez referred to the moment her 11-year-old daughter Emme performed “Let’s Get Loud” while sitting in a cage. Emme was surrounded by other young dancers enclosed in cages.

First, it was an unexpected appearance at President Donald Trump's impeachment hearings, and now it’s a barrier-breaking debut during one of the year’s most watched sporting events. Drag queens, for the first time, will appear in a Super Bowl advertisement. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alumni Kim Chi and Miz Cracker will make history in a commercial for hummus brand Sabra during the football championship game Feb. 2, when the Kansas City Chiefs will face the San Francisco 49ers. In the teaser for the ad campaign, which the New York-based company posted on its YouTube channel last week, Miz Cracker clumsily attempts...

Police have released information on a series of tense confrontations between officers and former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, which occurred at his Hollywood home. According to an incident report, Brown's girlfriend - and mother to his three children - called police to help her remove her belongings from his home after an argument the night before. Police say when they approached the front door of Brown's home to explain the situation, he became argumentative. They say Brown wanted to report his girlfriend's Bently as stolen. She was able to provide video of Brown gifting her the vehicle, but police...

Early in the second quarter, with his team leading 21-0, Texans coach Bill O'Brien sent his offense back out onto the field to go for it on fourth down from the Kansas City 13-yard-line. The Texans were rolling, and they needed less than a foot to convert for the first down, so the decision made sense. Only O'Brien didn't actually have his offense go for it. Instead, he ran down the clock, called a timeout, and then sent Ka'imi Fairbairn out for a field goal try. The kick went through the uprights, giving the Texans a 24-0 lead. The next...