The NFL — heck, pro sports as a whole … heck, our country as a whole — is in a much different spot in the conversation on social justice and racial inequality than even six months ago.
National polling suggested support for Black Lives Matter doubled this summer from where it was in 2016 — around the time that Colin Kaepernick knelt before the national anthem during an NFL preseason game. As the idea that racism is a major problem has become the majority opinion in the United States, athletes have been more willing to speak out — and their leagues have had no choice but to follow them.