The NFL has confirmed a New York Times report that Super Bowl LIX being held in New Orleans on Sunday will not have the “End Racism” slogan that has been stenciled at the back of NFL end zones since 2020 in the wake of the George Floyd riots, including for Super Bowls.
The news comes as reports state President Trump, who has been quickly fulfilling a campaign promise to eliminate DEI in the federal government, is planning to attend the Super Bowl.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed the end zone change to USA Today but did not mention Trump as a reason for the change (excerpt):
The Super Bowl 59 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will instead include the phrases “Choose Love” and “It Takes All of Us” behind the end zones at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to USA TODAY Sports.
“The Super Bowl is often a snapshot in time and the NFL is in a unique position to capture and lift the imagination of the country,” McCarthy said in a statement. ” ‘Choose Love’ is appropriate to use as our country has endured in recent weeks wild fires in southern California, the terrorist attack here in New Orleans, the plane and helicopter crash near our nation’s capital and the plane crash in Philadelphia.”
McCarthy noted that the AFC championship game, hosted by the Chiefs, did not feature the “end racism” slogan while the NFC championship game, hosted by the Eagles, did.
The league began stenciling in “end racism” behind end zones starting with the season openers in 2020 as part of its “Inspire Change” initiative, with the efforts expanding in 2021. The Athletic reported that the decision not to utilize the slogan for Super Bowl 59 was relayed to “high-level” league employees earlier this week.
New York Times excerpt:
At his annual news conference Monday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed strong support for the league’s policies designed to promote diversity at the club-employment level and indicated that those endeavors will continue.
“We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League,” Goodell said. “And we’re going to continue those efforts, because we’ve not only convinced ourselves we’ve proven it to ourselves — it does make the NFL better.”
…The switch, conveyed internally to high-level employees earlier this week, could be perceived as a nod to the current political climate. Following the lead of recently inaugurated President Donald Trump and his administration, many corporations and institutions are abandoning their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. While Goodell said Monday he was “proud” of the league’s diversity efforts, the decision to do away with “End Racism” as a slogan led at least one high-ranking league official to express concern in light of Trump’s divisive words on the subject.
…The NFL launched its “Inspire Change” platform in 2018. Two years later, slogans such as “End Racism,” “It Takes All of Us,” “Stop Hate,” “Choose Love” and “Vote” began appearing on end-zone borders, part of a broader, multi-pronged effort to promote diversity and inclusion. In an internal memo at the time, the messages were said to demonstrate “how football and the NFL brings people together to work as one and use our example and our actions to help conquer racism.”
The changes were initiated in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a Minneapolis police officer, sparking nationwide protests against police brutality. The issue had risen to the forefront of the NFL community four years earlier, when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem, and other players around the league soon followed.
Tuesday morning, Punchbowl News reported Trump was planning to attend the Super Bowl:
NEWS: President Donald Trump is expected to go to the Super Bowl this weekend in New Orleans.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 4, 2025
CNN got confirmation from a White House official (excerpt):
President Donald Trump is expected to attend Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, a White House official told CNN.
The guest list is still being prepared, the official said, though House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana native, is in talks to join him.
With his Sunday attendance, Trump will make history as the first sitting US president to attend a Super Bowl.
In the days after Trump won the presidential election in November, NFL players did the Trump dance after big plays. It was far cry from the battles Trump waged with woke NFL players during his first term over their kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem.
Bosa and the Niners D just hit the Trump dance after a sack
The NFL can’t fine him for that. pic.twitter.com/JlhdO4r4Az
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 10, 2024
jUST IN: Dolphins Zach Sieler does President-elect Trump’s dance in Miami. pic.twitter.com/f0eyEUiCaJ
— Remarks (@remarks) November 24, 2024
The NFL posted the “End Racism” end zone stencil in September 2020:
End racism. #ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/IU4G626FvQ
— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2020
The post Super Bowl 59: NFL to Remove ‘End Racism’ Slogan From End Zones as News Reports State President Trump to Attend Game in New Orleans appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.