The National Football League (NFL) is quietly supporting the ‘defund the police’ movement through its Inspire Change program.
Inspire Change gives money to organizations that openly advocate for the abolishment of police forces, prisons, cash bail, pre-trial detention, and immigration detention. The group works hand-in-hand with the Players Coalition, an independent 501(c)(3) organization that grew from the protests against police brutality inspired by former San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick.
Groups that receive funding from Inspire Change include the Community Justice Exchange, which according to its website envisions “a world without prisons, policing, prosecution, surveillance, or any form of detention or supervision,” and the Oregon Justice Resource Center, which in 2020 claimed that ‘police brutality and the cruelty of prisons is the result of white supremacy.’
Inspire Change “supports player-led efforts to engage with team owners, public officials, law enforcement, academic institutions, community partners, and others to identify meaningful ways to strengthen local communities and the greater society,” reads the program’s official website. Its four areas of focus are “education,” “economic advancement,” “police and community relations,” and “criminal justice reform.”
Since its launch in 2018, Inspire Change has donated more than $160 million to “social justice organizations.” This sum includes grants awarded to individual players for “nonprofits of their choice to help reduce barriers to opportunities.”
Last year, the NFL and Inspire Change pledged $250 million over the next decade to “help advance social justice” and support “the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African Americans.”
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As noted last week by Fox News journalist Peter Hasson, the mainstream media doesn’t seem to be interested in the NFL’s direct support for liberal organizations that are trying to do away with police. Obviously not, because the NFL is a cash cow for the media and they don’t want another Colin Kaepernick scandal to disrupt viewership.
Sources:
NFL funding ‘defund the police’ groups through ‘Inspire Change’
NFL vows to spend $250 million to address systemic racism, police reforms