Jemele Hill accuses the NFL of only caring about racism when it is ‘convenient’

Journalist Jemele Hill joined a panel of activists, artists, and experts in an open dialogue about racism and policing practices on the A&E special The Time Is Now: Race and Resolution, which aired Monday night. During the discussion, she called out NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for his recent admission that the NFL should have supported players who knelt during the national anthem. “My frustration, however, is that I don't look at what people do when it's convenient,” said Hill. “I look at what they do when it's not convenient, and the NFL showed exactly who they are and what they're about when it wasn't convenient.” Throughout the 2016 season, San Francisco 49er’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick would kneel during the singing of the national anthem in order to protest police brutality and systemic injustice. He opted out of his contract in March of 2017 and no other team signed him as a free agent. Considering his age and success, many rightfully felt he was being exiled the NFL for his beliefs. Hill also questioned the impact the current administration is going to have on the peaceful demonstrations by players going forward. “It's a little tough for me to look at Roger Goodell's apology as a step forward when the President came after Colin Kaepernick, when the president came after his players, he stood down,” said Hill. “What are they [NFL] gonna do if somebody decides to take a knee in the fall or whenever football comes back?” President Trump has long been opposed to peaceful protest by kneeling. He recently tweeted his concern over the NFL’s new stance on the demonstration. Despite being frustrated by racial inequality, Hill admits the current civil rights protests and Black Lives Matter movement has her optimistic about the future. She said, “I'm optimistic in the sense that you see that this has now become a nationwide cause and before it just felt as if black people were just punching against the air fruitlessly and no one was listening and that we were literally talking to a bunch of brick walls and now you see that there are a lot of people who suddenly understand that this has been a significant problem.”

Video Transcript

JEMELE HILL: My frustration, however, is that I don't look at what people do when it's convenient. I look at what they do when it's not convenient. And the NFL showed exactly who they are and what they're about when it wasn't convenient.

- Journalist Jemele Hill joined a panel of activists, artists, and experts in an open dialogue about racism and policing practices on the A&E special "The Time Is Now: Race and Resolution," which aired Monday night. And during the discussion, she called out NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for his recent admission that the NFL should have supported players who knelt during the national anthem.

JEMELE HILL: It's a little tough for me to look at Roger Goodell's apology as a step forward when the president came after Colin Kaepernick, when the president came after his players, he stood down. What are they going to do if somebody decides to take a knee in the fall, or whenever football comes back?

- President Trump has long been opposed to peaceful protests by kneeling. In fact, following Goodell's apology, he took to Twitter to question the NFL commissioner's statement about kneeling during the national anthem going forward. But Jemele says the race issues in the NFL go far beyond the national anthem protest.

JEMELE HILL: They have 32 NFL owners. None of them are black. They've never had a majority black owner in the NFL. They have two black general managers and three black head coaches. It looks like there's a systemic issue they need to deal with in their own building.

- Despite being frustrated by racial inequality, Jemele admits the current civil rights protests and Black Lives Matter movement has her optimistic about the future.

JEMELE HILL: I'm optimistic in the sense that you see that this has now become a nationwide cause. And before, it just felt as if black people were just punching against the air fruitlessly, and no one was listening, and that we were literally talking to a bunch of brick walls. And now you see that there are a lot of people who suddenly understand that this has been a significant problem.