NFL endorses criminal-justice reform bill in the midst of anthem debate

[Eleazar]

NFL endorses criminal-justice reform bill in the midst of anthem debate

By Karoun Demirjian and Beth Reinhard
The Washington Post
October 16



The National Football League, still in political crosshairs over whether players should take a knee during the national anthem, is throwing its weight behind another cause in Washington’s debate over racial inequality: criminal justice reform.

The NFL’s spokesman said on Monday that the league has decided to endorse a bipartisan bill to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders, eliminate “three-strike” provisions that require life sentences and give judges more latitude to reduce sentences for certain low-level crimes.

“We felt that this was an issue over the last months, as we have continued to work with our players on issues of equality and on issues of criminal justice reform, that was surfaced for us, and we thought it was appropriate to lend our support to it,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said Monday during a conference call with reporters.

The owners appear to be seeking middle ground between football players and their critics during a heated national debate over the growing phenomenon of players kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. It is not clear what effect the NFL’s effort will have on that debate — or on President Trump, who has fueled much of the vitriol against kneeling players through his personal and official Twitter accounts.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/power...=.1f86c6a1bf32

So, hoping to curry favor with the players who are kneeling, the NFL is endorsing a piece of soft-on-crime legislation. The optics of that are amusing.

Goodell's winking and nodding at the kneeling players will probably just encourage them to take it further, not make them respect the country again. The NFL will not be better off for bowing to them. Look at Mizzou.

The NFL doesn't seem to understand what's happening here at all. Fans do not want the NFL to be political. Fans are not going to be amused by Roger Goodell wading into politics. ESPN has already made this mistake by becoming another politicized media outlet... it's fascinating that Goodell thinks the way to resolve the fan ire over this conflict is to make the NFL more political.