Roger Goodell Regrets Not Listening To Colin Kaepernick On Anthem Protests

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick received a massive amount of attention for starting a movement for players to kneel during the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality. The blowback for Kaepernick has been that he has gone unsigned by an NFL team for years.

In response, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell created a policy that all NFL players must stand during the national anthem.

Last week, Goodell said he regrets his actions and wishes that he listened to Kaepernick back then.

During an interview for the show Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, Goodell expressed his sincere regret for not supporting Kaepernick sooner. “Well the first thing I’d say is I wish we had listened earlier, Kap, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to,” he said.

Goodell stressed how much better of a position the NFL would be if they had listened to the protests “We had invited him in several times to have the conversation, to have the dialogue. I wish we had the benefit of that. We never did. And we would’ve benefited from that, absolutely.”