NFL to scrap ‘End Racism’ messaging on field for Super Bowl
The National Football League (NFL) is replacing the “End Racism” message on the back of a Super Bowl end zone this year with a new phrase: “Choose Love.”
This Sunday will mark the first Super Bowl since 2020 without an end zone field stencil displaying “End Racism.” The other end zone will display the message “It Takes All of Us,” which is used for all games, according to NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy.
McCarthy described the NFL’s choice this year as “appropriate,” given the recent tragedy the country has suffered.
“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 an emailed 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,” he continued in the statement.
The NFL started field stencils in 2020 as part of its “Inspire Change” campaign. Teams generally select their own messages to display in their respective end zones, but the league selects the message for the Super Bowl, McCarthy said.
McCarthy noted that teams have displayed a range of messages on the field so far this year, including “End Racism,” Stop Hate,” “Vote” and “Choose Love.” During the championship games a few weeks ago, McCarthy added, the Chiefs displayed “Choose Love” and the Eagles displayed “End Racism.”
The decision for a new end zone message, as first reported by The Athletic, comes as President Trump has launched a series of efforts to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the federal government.
Several corporate conglomerates have taken a cue from the president and ended their own DEI initiatives, including those at Target, Walmart, McDonald’s and Tractor Supply Co.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, however, said on Monday that the NFL has no plans to end its DEI policies, saying those initiatives make the sport better.
“We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League, and we’re going to continue those efforts because we’ve not only convinced ourselves, I think we’ve proven to ourselves that it does make the NFL better,” Goodell told reporters Monday.
“We’re not in this because it’s a trend to get into it or a trend to get out of it. Our efforts are fundamental in trying to attract the best possible talent into the National Football League both on and off the field,” he added during his state of the league address.
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