NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Friday the league will observe Juneteenth, an annual June 19 celebration marking the end of slavery in the Confederacy in 1865, as a league holiday.
ESPN's Adam Schefter provided the full statement from Goodell:
Numerous NFL players are among the athletes who've spoken about the need for change to secure racial justice in the United States in recent weeks.
It's part of a widespread movement, highlighted by worldwide protests, following the killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, while in Minneapolis Police custody May 25.