As the Big Game inches ever closer, the NFL is set to do more than treat the American public to another excuse to guzzle beer and consume snacks. While spectators anticipate the upcoming Super Bowl LVII, along with its whimsical commercials and halftime show, the league is embarking on another adventure: the ongoing quest to eradicate racism – or at least to put on a good enough performance to assuage the demands of the social justice crowd.

The NFL made an announcement in which it reaffirmed its commitment to combatting racism and other forms of bigotry. The declaration is welcome to those on the left, who believe they will enjoy the support of one of the largest sporting franchises in existence. However, as beneficial as the move may or may not be – it is difficult to imagine that the league is not engaging in a bit of damage control after going through its own race-related controversies.

NFL Pledges More Money for Social Justice Causes

The NFL said it would be expanding its partnership with the Players Coalition to “address issues of racial and social justice with a five-year extension and a $15 million grant through its Inspire Change initiative,” Associated Press reports. The agreement was announced after the league surpassed its original $250 million pledge to push back against the impact of systemic racism. The league celebrated the fact that it had reached its objective four years early.

“Combatting social injustice is a continuous process,” said Commissioner Roger Goodell in a written statement. “The NFL family understands the role we have in shaping and contributing to a more equitable future. The more experience we have doing just that, the stronger our drive is to continue.”

The organization’s grants have propped up over 650 local nonprofits and have matched almost 2,000 grants from current and former athletes and over 40 national grant partners.

The league explained that it is focusing on four areas with its Inspire Change initiative, which include “fostering mentorship for better outcomes in education and beyond; advancing access to financial literacy and career pipelines; creating changes in policing through law enforcement-community collaboration and expanded 9-1-1 options; providing transition support for the formerly incarcerated and advocating for key reforms to the criminal legal system,” according to AP.

Is This a PR Move?

The NFL has been battered by a barrage of criticism over the years over various issues. From the lack of minorities serving as head coaches and team owners, to the handling of the health of its athletes, it has had no shortage of allegations of racism against its leadership and culture. But what was of particular interest was the practice of “race norming” which was allegedly used to deny assistance to players who suffered brain injuries while playing for the league.

NPR reported that the NFL agreed to put a halt to race-based adjustments in dementia testing as part of a settlement proposed last year in federal court. The agreement came after public outrage over the practice of race norming, which is a “binary scoring system used in dementia testing — one for Black people, one for everyone else — was developed by neurologists in the 1990s as a crude way to factor in a patient’s socioeconomic background” according to the report.

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The practice, which is used to assess whether a former athlete receives compensation for brain injuries, assumes that black players already begin with substandard cognitive functioning, which makes it more difficult for these individuals who show that they have a mental deficit linked to their tenure on the field. In essence, it means the NFL assumed the mental capacities of black players were already deficient, so it is more difficult to ascertain whether their condition was a result of the gridiron or supposition that they were already not intellectually up to par.

“The adjustments, critics say, may have prevented hundreds of Black players suffering from dementia to win awards that average $500,000 or more,” according to the NPR report.

As a result, black players who retired from the league might have the opportunity to have their tests rescored or to take another cognitive test. “We look forward to the court’s prompt approval of the agreement, which provides for a race-neutral evaluation process that will ensure diagnostic accuracy and fairness in the concussion settlement,” the NFL said in a statement.

Perhaps the NFL is engaging in a bit of virtue signaling as a way to repair the reputational damage done by critics, who have lambasted the organization for discriminating on the basis of race. While not all of the criticisms are warranted, they appear to have done the trick. Now, these organizations will continue receiving millions of dollars in support from the league. Some of these groups might actually do some good while others are more likely to pursue political agendas that don’t benefit the people they claim to champion.

But even with this move, it is clear the NFL is not out of the woods yet. Social Justice, Inc. is not easily satisfied, and as long as the league continues filling its coffers from the pockets of its eager fans, it can be assumed that they will continue coming back this favored source of funding.