Millions of homeowners have helped embolden a president who has repeatedly shown racism. Trump enjoys building his campaigns around the racial anxieties of white Americans. He recently retweeted a video in which one of his supporters shouts, “White power!” (Trump finally deleted it after staff intervened.) He vehemently defended Confederate monuments and complained, after New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that “Black Lives Matter” would be painted along Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower, that the anti-slogan of violence is a “symbol of hate”. And let’s not forget that after former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested to draw attention to police violence against blacks, Trump slyly stirred up opposition and hatred against him .
Jemele Hill: NFL suddenly worried about black lives
As the nation grapples with its troubling racial history and precarious racial present, sport is in a unique position to help accelerate progress. A moral stance from the sports industry ultimately settled the long and unfortunate debate over the flag of the state of Mississippi. State legislators voted on Sunday to remove the Confederate emblem. This would not have happened if the state had not been pushed into action by Southeast Conference commissioner Greg Sankey, who recently threatened to prevent future championship events in Mississippi if the State did not change flags.
The NFL can only make a difference if those in positions of power – a category that most certainly includes Ross – take this opportunity to make bold statements rather than maintain the status quo. The overwhelming majority of NFL owners are white, and when they choose to get involved in politics, they usually champion conservative causes. After the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery – three black Americans who were killed in interactions with alleged white police – NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued a declaration vowing to use “power of our platform “to” respond to these systemic problems. “If the lives of black people really matter to the owners – beyond the black players who help them fill the stadiums and add zeros to their bank accounts – they avoid their own comfort and prove that their intentions are serious.
Ross cannot simply throw money at complex social justice issues and expect it to dispense him from his affiliation with Trump, whose administration has proudly hampered the very progress that Ross now claims he is dedicated to doing. He must send the message that he is serious about his commitment to end injustice by distancing himself from Trump.
Read: The difference between first degree racism and third degree racism
Without denouncing Trump, Ross only makes his financial commitment to social justice disingenuous. Former Dolphins player Kenny Stills, whom Miami traded to the Houston Texans last year, tweeted that Ross only made the donation to receive a tax write-off. Stills had previously criticized Ross when the owner organized the Hamptons’ fundraiser for Trump. Stills posted a screenshot of RISE’s mission statement and commented, “You can’t have a nonprofit with this mission statement, so open your doors to Trump.” As Kaepernick did, Stills knelt for the national anthem before games since 2016 to draw attention to social justice and police brutality. For the Dolphins, Stills’ role in the anthem protests and his public criticism of Ross seem to have made it unusable.
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