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New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston attended a Black Lives Matter march on Saturday.
“Relentless pursuit towards making this world better for generations to come!” he wrote in an Instagram post. “It starts now! If not now then when?”
Following the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, Americans began protesting to demand reforms to address police brutality and systemic racism.
The issue will feel particularly acute for some NFL players after Colin Kaepernick faced significant public scorn for protesting during the national anthem. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche in August 2016 he “[was] not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league made a mistake by not offering better support to players who wanted to engage in social activism:
That came after a number of players requested the NFL make a public statement condemning racism and the “systematic oppression of black people.”
The NFL also announced Thursday it was donating $250 million over a period of 10 years “to combat systemic racism and support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African Americans.”