New Orleans Saints Pledge ‘Not To Stick To Sports’ This Season In Social Justice Campaign

The New Orleans Saints is dedicating its season to highlighting “oppression” of black women in its latest social justice initiative.

The Saints rolled out the campaign on Friday ahead of the first weekend of the NFL football season with a video of Saints players sitting down and committing their “platform” to “raise awareness about the current state of black women in America.” The video mentions the case of Breonna Taylor, a black 26-year-old woman killed by police in March.

The video shows eight saints players – left tackle Terron Armstead, quarterback Drew Brees, linebacker Demario Davis, safety Malcolm Jenkins, defensive end Cameron Jordan, running back Alvin Kamara, punter Thomas Morstead, and linebacker Craig Robertson – alternating and reading through parts of a script explaining the initiative.

Transcript:

We care about the issues that plague our community, and in light of all of the things that we see going on in our country, we as Saints want to utilize our platform this season for meaningful change, not to distract from issues. Not to stick to sports, but to work together as teammates for meaningful change. Our goal is to raise awareness about the current state of black women in America.

When it comes to broader conversation of social justice, black women are usually left out. As is evidence in the case of Breonna Taylor … we are failing to acknowledge the intersecting impacts of racism and sexism of black women. As men we feel it is time to evaluate our spaces, do our part, and use our platform to uplift the stories of our most disenfranchised. By uplifting our leaders, the left out, and the overlooked. We can bring about solutions that elicit systemic change both in New Orleans and around the country and ultimately make a safer, more equitable America.

We invite you to take a journey with us this season. Take a journey with us to help us ensure that all people are treated equally and fairly, to have and live full complete lives … for future generations to come. Because we are the Saints … and it’s time we say her name.

Taylor, an emergency medical technician, died after being shot five times by police officers conducting a no-knock raid on her apartment in connection with a drug investigation. Taylor was not a suspect of the investigation. She had dated one of the main suspects on and off before severing ties with him before the March 13 raid, according to Taylor family lawyers.

The NFL is making a concerted effort to ramp up social justice messaging throughout the 2020-2021 season. The league has painted massive slogans such as “end racism” and “it takes all of us” in end zones. Players have placed the names of victims of alleged police racism on their helmets. Before every game, stadiums play “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which has been dubbed the “black national anthem,” along with the “Star Spangled Banner.”

Colin Kaepernick, a former NFL quarterback turned social justice activist, slammed the NFL’s attempts at social justice on Sunday, calling it “propaganda” meant to cover up its injustices.

“While the NFL runs propaganda about how they care about Black Life, they are still actively blackballing Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) for fighting for the Black community. Eric set 2 franchise records last year, and is one of the best defensive players in the league,” Kaepernick tweeted.

“He played and started all 16 games for the Carolina Panthers last season. He recorded 130 tackles and four sacks. He joined the Panthers a few weeks into the 2018 season. He recorded 71 tackles and an interception in that season,” he continued.