The Atlanta Falcons Can Protect Themselves From NFL Playing Black National Anthem Before "The Star-Spangled Banner"

The NFL wants to play the Black national anthem before "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to every game during Week 1. Not good.

So did NFL bosses really insult our intelligence by declaring every game during Week 1 of this season will start with the Black national anthem of "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" before "The Star-Spangled Banner?"

Uh huh.

Here we go again, with those NFL bosses continuing their mind games during this era of enlightenment regarding racial inequality, Black Lives Matter, the George Floyd aftermath and doing the right thing, period.

Situation No. 1: Even though 70 percent of the league's players are Black, just three head coaches and two general managers are Black out of the 32 teams.

The NFL's response: League officials talked of having the owners vote in May on a proposal to reward franchises that hired minority candidates as head coaches or general managers with improved draft-pick positioning.

The result: How do you say . . . disingenuous? The whole thing never reached the negotiating table after it got blasted out of existence by much of the public. 

Situation No. 2: See everything above.

The NFL's response: The (phony) money thing. Soon after league commissioner Roger Goodell released a video saying he and his colleagues were wrong by not listening to the concerns of players regarding social injustice, the NFL announced it was committing $250 million over 10 years to projects associated with Black Lives Matter and other such groups.

The result: Well, the NFL is sort of getting away with this, but only among those who aren't doing the math. For social causes, that's $25 million per year from a league that made a record $16 billion last season. Not impressive.

Situation No. 3: Yep. See everything above. Now add the fact that an NFL team still hasn't signed Colin Kaepernick, who is the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback banned from the NFL after the 2016 season for kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest social injustice around America.

The NFL's response: League officials mentioned the possibility of honoring victims of police brutality by putting their names on helmet decals or uniform patches. That, along with the singing of the Black national anthem.

The result: Check out my video. 

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Terence Moore
TERENCE MOORE

I started as a professional sports journalist in 1978 at the Cincinnati Enquirer after I graduated from Miami (Ohio) University, and I’ve been doing the same thing ever since. I also appear on national television, and I’m part of a weekly TV show in Atlanta. I’ve done everything from ESPN to MSNBC to The Oprah Winfrey Show. As for writing, I’ve gone from working for major newspapers in San Francisco and Atlanta to operating as a national columnist at AOL Sports, MLB.com, Sports On Earth.com and CNN.Com. I’ve covered a slew of sporting events. I’ve done 30 Super Bowls, numerous World Series and NBA Finals games, Final Fours, several Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and other auto races, major prize fights and golf tournaments, college football bowl games and more. I’ve also won national, state and local awards along the way.