African-Americans
FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2018, file photo, Philadelphia Eagles' Malcolm Jenkins (27) and New England Patriots' Devin McCourty answer questions in St. Paul, Minn. Jenkins has teamed with fellow NFL players to launch a venture capital fund, Broad Street Ventures on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. The fund focuses on late stage and growth stage technology and consumer products. Jenkins and co-founder Ralonda Johnson recruited additional NFL players and industry leaders to represent the fund. Among them are defensive backs Devin and Jason McCourty of the Patriots. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Malcolm Jenkins says therapy helps him cope with stress

By Rob Maaddi Oct. 14, 2020 04:43 PM EDT

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020 file photo, fans stand for a presentation on social justice before an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans in Kansas City, Mo. The NFL's new stance encouraging players to take a stand against racial injustice got its first test as some fans of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs booed during a moment of silence to promote the cause, touching off a fresh debate on how players should use their voice. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Chiefs, Texans booed as racial justice stand sparks outrage

By Heather Hollingsworth Sep. 11, 2020 06:25 PM EDT

New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton smiles as he steps on the field at the start of an NFL football training camp practice, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool)
Newton feeling thankful, not pressure taking over as Pats QB

By Kyle Hightower Sep. 10, 2020 08:21 PM EDT

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick (7) and Eric Reid (35) kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C. Four years after Kaepernick spoke out against racism and eventually lost his job for peacefully protesting, the NFL supports his fight and now encourages players to stand up for racial equality and social justice.(AP Photo/Mike McCarn, File)
Now that NFL supports Colin Kaepernick's fight, what's next?

By Rob Maaddi Sep. 08, 2020 03:06 PM EDT

Roger Goodell: 'The NFL stands with the Black community'

By Rob Maaddi Sep. 01, 2020 09:12 PM EDT
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated the league’s support for players fighting for racial justice and protesting police violence. ...

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, center, looks on as players run past Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020, during an NFL football training camp in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Seahawks final scrimmage secondary to Carroll's message

By Tim Booth Aug. 30, 2020 08:29 PM EDT

Men from Milwaukee wear "We're WI Men" T-shirts as they attend the March on Washington, Friday Aug. 28, 2020, in Washington, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Athlete power: ‘Shut up and play' is tossed from the game

By Eddie Pells Aug. 29, 2020 12:51 PM EDT

New York Jets safety Bradley McDougald (30) during a practice at the NFL football team's training camp in Florham Park, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. Within the confines of the team's facility, McDougald is a respected pro football player whose main concern is stopping the offense. When he heads home and turns onto the main road just a few hundred yards away, he goes on the defense. His guard goes up. Just as it has most of his life. “Guys are sick and tired of being sick and tired,” McDougald said Wednesday during a video conference call. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
NFL players concerned, 'sick and tired' of racial injustice

By Dennis Waszak Jr. Aug. 26, 2020 06:04 PM EDT

File-Seattle Seahawks quarterback, Rick Mirer (3) is sacked for a seven-yard-loss by Kevin Henry (76) of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter of their NFL game in Seattle, Wash., Sunday, Dec. 26, 1993. Dementia tests in the NFL concussion litigation allow doctors to use different baseline standards for Black and white retired players, making it more difficult for Blacks to show injury and qualify for awards, lawyers for two ex-players argued in court filings Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. Lawyers for ex-players Henry and Najeh Davenport said their clients were denied awards “based on a discriminatory testing regime" that weighs sociological factors including race. Both men would have qualified for awards had race not been considered, they said. (AP Photos/Gary Stewart, File)
Lawyers: NFL concussion awards discriminate against Blacks

By Maryclaire Dale Aug. 25, 2020 05:37 PM EDT

This is an April 15, 2004, photo showing Bill Nunn. Nunn, dubbed a “super scout” for the Pittsburgh Steelers for finding NFL talent at historically Black universities, has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor. Nunn was later the team’s assistant director of player personnel. “You don’t know how much this means to us,” Nunn’s daughter, Lynell Wilson, said Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, when told of the contributors committee vote by David Baker, president and CEO of the Hall of Fame.(Peter Diana/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)
"Super Scout" Bill Nunn nominated for Hall of Fame

Aug. 25, 2020 03:28 PM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2010, file photo, Arizona Cardinals running back Jason Wright is shown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos in Glendale, Ariz. The Washington Football Team has hired Jason Wright as team president. He’s the first Black person to hold this job in NFL history and at 38 becomes the youngest team president in the league.(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, FIle)
Broncos Cardinals Dec-2010

Aug. 17, 2020 10:38 AM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 19, 2011, file photo, Arizona Cardinals running back Jason Wright, center, talks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Washington Football Team has hired Jason Wright as team president. He’s the first Black person to hold this job in NFL history and at 38 becomes the youngest team president in the league. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Washington hires Wright as NFL's 1st Black team president

By Stephen Whyno Aug. 17, 2020 10:37 AM EDT

Signs for the Washington Redskins are displayed outside FedEx Field in Landover, Md., Monday, July 13, 2020. The Washington NFL franchise announced Monday that it will drop the “Redskins” name and Indian head logo immediately, bowing to decades of criticism that they are offensive to Native Americans. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Washington's NFL team drops 'Redskins' name after 87 years

By Stephen Whyno Jul. 13, 2020 08:58 AM EDT

FILE - This is a Nov. 24, 2019, file photo showing New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Edelman said he hopes that recent anti-Semitic social media posts by Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson can be a teaching moment not just for him but others as well. In a video posted to Instagram Thursday, July 9, 2020, Edelman joined the Eagles, NFL and others who have condemned Jackson’s posts over the weekend.(AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)
Pats' Edelman hopes Jackson posts serve as teaching moment

By Kyle Hightower Jul. 09, 2020 02:29 PM EDT

FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2019, file photo, Toronto FC soccer player Justin Morrow speaks to the media during an end of season availability in Toronto. A group of African American Major League Soccer players have formed a coalition to address systematic racism in their communities and bring about change within the league. The coalition is the result of an Instagram group formed after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, which spawned a wave of nationwide protests against racism and policy brutality. Started by Toronto FC defender Justin Morrow, the group grew to some 70 MLS players, who decided to act and the Black Players Coalition of MLS was born. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
Black Players for Change lead protest at MLS is Back tourney

By Anne M. Peterson Jul. 09, 2020 02:25 AM EDT

In this June 19, 2020, photo, people attend a peaceful rally in Chicago to mark Juneteenth. The holiday celebrates the day in 1865 that enslaved black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed from bondage, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
'Lift Every Voice and Sing' hymn ignites hope across nation

By Jonathan Landrum Jr. Jul. 05, 2020 09:45 AM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2020, file photo, Washington Redskins head coach Ron Rivera holds up a helmet during a news conference at the team's NFL football training facility in Ashburn, Va. The Washington Redskins are undergoing what the team calls a “thorough review” of the nickname. In a statement released Friday, July 3, 2020, the team says it has been talking to the NFL for weeks about the subject. Owner Dan Snyder says the process will include input from alumni, sponsors, the league, community and members of the organization. FedEx on Thursday called for the team to change its name, and Nike appeared to remove all Redskins gear from its online store. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Redskins to have 'thorough review' of name amid race debate

By Stephen Whyno Jul. 03, 2020 11:45 AM EDT

In this combination photo, filmmaker Ava DuVernay appears at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Feb. 9, 2020, left, and Colin Kaepernick attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala in New York on May 6, 2019. Kaepernick is joining with Emmy-winning filmmaker DuVernay on a Netflix miniseries about the teenage roots of the former NFL player’s activism. Neftlix says the limited series, titled “Colin in Black & White,” will examine Kaepernick’s high school years. (AP Photo)
Netflix series to dramatize Kaepernick's path to activism

Jun. 29, 2020 12:50 PM EDT

In this image made from video, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy speaks on a Zoom call Tuesday, June 23, 2020. The biggest takeaway following the NFL's two-day quarterback coaching summit aimed at improving the league's diversity, is that there's no shortage of qualified minority candidates waiting for opportunities to be head coaches and coordinators.(Rob Maaddi/Zoom via AP)
NFL's coaching summit highlights minority candidates

By Rob Maaddi Jun. 26, 2020 02:29 PM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2016, file photo, former New Orleans Saints and University of Mississippi running back Deuce McAllister leaves Orleans Parish Criminal District Court after the verdict in the Cardell Hayes murder trial in New Orleans. McAllister was part of group of student-athletes in the late 1990s who helped push administrators into largely eliminating the Confederate flag from Ole Miss football games. (AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman, File)
College athletes using platform to address social issues

By David Brandt Jun. 25, 2020 02:01 PM EDT