This is unacceptable!
In a recent report by Fox News, the news outlet revealed that the NFL, through the “Inspire Change” social justice initiative, gives financial support to groups that advocate defunding police.
The Fox report details that of the 33 organizations receiving financial assistance from the NFL’s Inspire Change, three openly aligned their mission with controversial beliefs. These include the Community Justice Exchange, Oregon Justice Resource, and the Vera Institute of Justice. These organizations support anti-law causes.
Examining the website of The Community Justice Exchange reveals that it identifies as an “abolitionist organization,” stating that its mission is to work toward “a world without prisons, policing, prosecution, surveillance or any form of detention or supervision.”
The NFL’s “Inspire Change” web page reveals that its financial support of the group has helped fund more than 75 bail and bond funds, that focused on ending money bail and pre-trial detention in the local community and immigration detention nationally.
This vocal support to defund police continues with other organizations funded by Inspire Change.
In June 2020, Nicholas Turner, the President of Vera Institute of Justice wrote in a blog post that the organization was “committed to dismantling the current culture of policing.” He continued, stating that they would focus on solutions that defunded police and shifted power to communities.
In the same blog post, Turner celebrates the Minneapolis city council’s attempt at disbanding the local police department after the death of George Floyd. Last month voters rejected the initiative.
Other organizations have also been vocal about their anti-racist anti-police motivations. In a tweet published by The Oregon Justice Resource, the group stated that the brutality of law enforcement and cruelty of U.S. prisons were “connected by the same malignant tumor: white supremacy,” concluding that “We must dismantle/defund it all.”
Although the NFL supports a variety of progressive social justice causes, supporting programs that plan to defund police could be troubling for fans of the league.
