Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 1
Kaepernick Calls NFL Anti-Racism Push Performative 6 Years After Goodell’s 2020 Video
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 1

Kaepernick Calls NFL Anti-Racism Push Performative 6 Years After Goodell’s 2020 Video

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 1

Summary

  • Colin Kaepernick said the NFL’s anti-racism messaging was “performative” in an NBC News interview tied to promotion for his upcoming memoir.
  • Goodell’s 2020 video condemning racism came only after player pressure, Kaepernick said, calling the response “disingenuous” while arguing the league still kept him out despite saying it should have listened.
  • Kaepernick said he had been trying to address the league’s treatment of him for years and framed the public messaging—such as “End Racism” branding—as public-relations symbolism rather than substantive change.
  • The dispute traces back to Kaepernick’s 2016 national-anthem protests; he has not played in the NFL since then and settled a collusion grievance with the league in 2019 without either side admitting wrongdoing.

Insights

If the NFL's anti-racism campaigns are merely performative, what specific structural reforms would finally prove their commitment to real change?
Why does a former quarterback relentlessly train to rejoin a sports league he publicly compares to a slave auction?
Can corporate sports giants ever create genuine social change, or are field decals just a billion-dollar public relations shield?