How a 'rogue' NFL employee teamed up with Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas to help create a video that would compel the league to say 'Black Lives Matter'
- NFL Commissioner apologized for the league's previous stance against player protests in a video posted to social media on Saturday.
- "We the National Football League believe black lives matter," Goodell said.
- The video would not have happened without the work of two NFL social media employees — Bryndon Minter and Nick Toney — who helped superstar players put together a message of their own on Thursday.
- Minter reached out to Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas after he was disappointed in the league's initial response to the death of George Floyd.
- Minter and Toney outlined a script, while Thomas enlisted other players from around the league to take part in the video.
- While Minter said he was fearful he might lose his job, he wound up being praised for his work, with Goodell emailing him to thank him for his "powerful and impactful" video.
On Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell put out a video that showed a dramatic shift in the league's stance regarding player protests.
Just two years after the league had attempted to establish a rule requiring players to stand for the national anthem or remain in the locker room as the anthem played, Goodell admitted that the NFL was wrong to push to shut down players' right to peacefully demonstrate.
"We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people," Goodell said. "We the National Football League admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.
"We the National Football League believe black lives matter. I personally protest with you, and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country. Without black players, there would be no National Football League. And the protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans, and staff."
The jarring reversal from the NFL didn't come without pressure. Instead, it began with a rogue NFL employee reaching out to some of the biggest stars in the league to help produce a video that would force the league to reckon with its past attempts at apoliticism.
Bryndon Minter, a 27-year-old NFL social media creative producer, was frustrated with the league's response to the death of George Floyd and the ongoing protests around the country were taking place.
"I decided, 'Hey, I'm just going to go rogue here. If I can get one player to buy in, we'll take a chance at this and see what can happen,'" Minter told Jourdan Rodrigue and Lindsay Jones of The Athletic.
Minter reached out to Saints receiver Michael Thomas with an Instagram DM.
"Want to help you create content to be heard around the league," Minter wrote to Thomas, according to Peter King at NBC Sports. "I'm an NFL social employee and am embarrassed by how the league has been silent this week. The NFL hasn't condemned racism. The NFL hasn't said that Black Lives Matter. I want [to] help you put pressure on. And arm you with a video that expresses YOUR voice and what you want from the league. Give me a holler if you're interested in working together, thanks bro!"
Just 23 minutes later, Thomas responded, and the two began to brainstorm where to go from there. Minter, working with Nick Toney, another NFL employee working in social media, put together a script, while Thomas enlisted more superstars from across the league to take part in the video.
By Thursday night, the video was ready to go, with Thomas, Saquon Barkley, Patrick Mahomes, and other NFL stars sharing it through their own social media channels.
The heart of the video showed nine players together on the screen at once, saying, "We, the National Football League," and sharing what they wanted to hear the league make clear.
"We will not be silenced. We assert our right to peacefully protest. It shouldn't take this long to admit. So, on behalf of the National Football League, this is what we, the players, would like to hear you state: We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people. We, the National Football League, admit wrong in silencing our players from peacefully protesting. We, the National Football League, believe Black Lives Matter."
One day after the message was made public, Goodell responded with his own video, echoing the words of the players, admitting fault in the league's previous attempts to quell peaceful protest, and unequivocally saying "Black Lives Matter."
Minter had told his boss about his plan the morning before the video went live, and later met with NFL superiors over Zoom. " I was ready to lose my job on that Zoom," Minter told Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports.
"I was at peace the whole time," he told The Athletic. "I think if I wasn't at peace to lose my job, I wouldn't have wanted to go out on a limb like that…I was at peace, I still am at peace."
Minter said he was inspired to act after being disappointed with how the league had responded earlier in the week to the ongoing protests. "When the league, and company we work for, doesn't simply come out and condemn racism — as simple as that — people start to morally have issues with that," he told The Athletic.
But once the video was live, and Goodell had responded, it was clear that Minter's work had been a net positive for moving the league in the right direction.
"We're proud of him, and his work," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said, per The Athletic. On Saturday, Goodell emailed Minter to thank him for the "powerful and impactful" video that he had produced, according to NBC Sports.
Obviously, the NFL still has a long way to go in terms of embracing players taking part in protests, and some criticized Goodell for not including Colin Kaepernick's name in his statement. But even with the work that remains, Goodell's video is a step in the right direction, and it wouldn't have happened without a video from the players and two NFL employees willing to risk their jobs in order to push the league forward.
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