Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

It's pretty clear to me that the NFL has looked at the demographics of its fan base, and the NFL has determined that people who disregard the message that "black lives matter (too)" and that systemic racism is bad just aren't considered an important part of the revenue stream moving forward. Using data from the U.S. Census, many number crunchers have determined that people who identify as "white" will be in the minority in about 20 years.

Also, perhaps because the NFLPA is largely made up of non-white players, the NFL understands that if it wants to avoid a labor dispute, it needs to move in the direction the NFLPA wants to move.

There are some pretty interesting and perhaps historic business decisions happening in the NFL right now. I believe at some point in the future, historians will look back on 2020 as one of those transition points to a new "era" in professional football.

Are there any other pivots going on in the NFL that future historians might see as a break toward a new era of pro football?

There are people that think Goodell is going to kill the league with this: https://dubsism.com/2020/09/07/ask-a-70 ... t-the-nfl/

Go to part 2 for J-Dub's take on Goodell's stance.

RyanChristiansen wrote:It's pretty clear to me that the NFL has looked at the demographics of its fan base, and the NFL has determined that people who disregard the message that "black lives matter (too)" and that systemic racism is bad just aren't considered an important part of the revenue stream moving forward. Using data from the U.S. Census, many number crunchers have determined that people who identify as "white" will be in the minority in about 20 years.

Also, perhaps because the NFLPA is largely made up of non-white players, the NFL understands that if it wants to avoid a labor dispute, it needs to move in the direction the NFLPA wants to move.

There are some pretty interesting and perhaps historic business decisions happening in the NFL right now....

Or, they just decided it was past time to do the right thing...


Edit: I didn't mean to be flippant or even political (though I guess I could be interpreted that way... apologies).
My point was: you are addressing this as a purely a "business decision" and it may not be.

I honestly don't think it has anything to do with the fans. I think it is all about the people they are paying to play the game. If the people playing professional sports were 80-90% caucasion I don't think you would be seeing them pay as much attention to it as they are.

Fans will more times than not stay fans regardless. Sure they may boo the players actions or sound off on forums but very few of them will stop being fans and spending money on the league. 90% of those that say they will stop being fans are just speaking out of their ass.

So much for keeping politics off the board.

The occasional "I Like Ike" is allowed.

JeffreyMiller wrote:So much for keeping politics off the board.

When the NFL makes a business decision that is also political, that's certainly fodder for discussion. It's not off-topic at all, not by any stretch of the imagination. That's like saying we can never talk about the tensions that were around Kenny Washington's signing with the Rams or Marion Motley's signing with the Browns.

RyanChristiansen wrote:

JeffreyMiller wrote:So much for keeping politics off the board.

When the NFL makes a business decision that is also political, that's certainly fodder for discussion. It's not off-topic at all, not by any stretch of the imagination. That's like saying we can never talk about the tensions that were around Kenny Washington's signing with the Rams or Marion Motley's signing with the Browns.

But people say that others are "talking out of their ass" because they disagree with their stance, we're veering into Facebook type nastiness. Let's at least keep it civil here.

RyanChristiansen wrote:That's like saying we can never talk about the tensions that were around Kenny Washington's signing with the Rams or Marion Motley's signing with the Browns.

Don't see many of those types of discussions here. I was just wondering about Washington the other day in terms of the first black QB. Reading Taliaferro's bio and a CC article by Bob Gill is discussed. In looking at old programs on eBay, it looked like Washington was known as a passer in the PCFL. Just not sure who the first pro black QB was - I'm not a buyer on Pollard, who I think of as a wingback. Talieferro says its not himself. Did he really write a CC article? So was wondering about Washington.

TanksAndSpartans wrote:

RyanChristiansen wrote:That's like saying we can never talk about the tensions that were around Kenny Washington's signing with the Rams or Marion Motley's signing with the Browns.

Don't see many of those types of discussions here. I was just wondering about Washington the other day in terms of the first black QB. Reading Taliaferro's bio and a CC article by Bob Gill is discussed. In looking at old programs on eBay, it looked like Washington was known as a passer in the PCFL. Just not sure who the first pro black QB was - I'm not a buyer on Pollard, who I think of as a wingback. Talieferro says its not himself. Did he really write a CC article? So was wondering about Washington.

During the Rams' first-ever preseason game, the College All-Star Game at Soldier Field in Chicago, in a third-string backup quarterback role Washington threw an interception and was sacked for a safety. In their first exhibition game in Los Angeles, Washington only threw one incomplete pass.

SOURCE: Atwood, Gretchen. 2016. Lost Champions: Four Men, Two Teams, and the Breaking of Pro Football's Color Line. New York: Bloomsbury.

After that, he played halfback. I don't think he played quarterback in any non-exhibition games.