In the wake of the murder of Minnesota-native George Floyd at the hands of a Minneaolis police officer, our country has been forced to recon with its original sin of systemic racism. The call for social justice has since been taken up by prominent athletes as well.

Last week NFL superstars Patrick Mahomes, Saquan Barkley, Odell Beckham, Jr., and others compiled a video with a stark message for the NFL: "how long will it take for you to listen to your players?" The players also urged the league to condemn racism and admit that it was wrong in attempting to silence the peaceful protests headed by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016. A day later commissioner Roger Goodell responded: "We, the National Football League condemn racism". He would go on to admit that the league was wrong for not listening to the players nearly a half-decade ago and that he encourages players to peacefully protest.

Within the last forty-eight hours the league has made two major moves: The first came June 11, when the league announced a $250 million pledge to social justice causes over the next ten years. The following day, Goodell announced that the NFL will observe Juneteenth (June 19) as a company holiday, effectively closing its offices that day.

June 19 is celebrated as the official end of slavery in the United States, as it is the day that the last slaves in Texas were read President Abraham Lincoln's Emmancipation Proclamation in 1865. Later on June 12, it was reported that Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien intends to kneel during the National Anthem before games this upcoming season along with players. Several of his players including quarterback Deshaun Watson and former Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins have recently become outspoken on racial injustice.

The league is preparing to see player protests (mostly in the form of kneeling during the national anthem) in "record numbers" according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. The demonstrations happened less and less during the 2018 and 2019 seasons after they became a hot topic in 2016 and remained that way in 2017. However, with the seemingly seismic shift in the NFL's attitude toward player demonstrations evidenced by Goodell's message, O'Brien may not be the only head coach or prominent non-player to join in protests. ESPN's Tony Kornheiser stated that he believes the commissioner is "thinking about" kneeling with the players. However, many protests we see, or who we see on one knee, the NFL will be at the forefront of discussions centered around protests assuming the season is played as scheduled.

As the NFL looks to become a part of ending racism in America, it still has its own racial disparities to address. Of the thirty-two head coaches, only three are black; and of the thirty-two general managers, only two are African-American. Aside from that, the world is still waiting for one of the thirty-two NFL owners (all except one of whom are white) to address race within the league. ESPN's Diana Russini has suggested that the owners are waiting on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to break his silence on the issue.

Regardless of whether one of the real powers--an owner--addresses the issue of race within the National Football League, it cannot be ignored that the NFL, in the form of Commissioner Goodell, has finally responded to racial inequities in society as well as in the league, and will now encourage its players to peacefully protest injustice. However, we cannot ignore that there is still work to be done within the NFL and the upcoming season and the seasons to follow will speak volumes to the direction the league is trending as it relates to these issues.