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A detail of a saying "End Racism" is seen painted in the end zone on one side of the stadium prior to the game between the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on September 10, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri.
It'll be the first Super Bowl since 2021 without that specific phrase.
At his annual Super Bowl news conference on Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reaffirmed the league’s commitment to diversity and inclusion efforts, stating that such initiatives would continue despite a shifting corporate climate. But some have questioned why the league has decided to remove the phrase "end racism" in its end zones. Instead, the end zone on Sunday will display "Choose love."
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It'll mark the first time since February 2021 that “End Racism” will not appear during a Super Bowl, The Athletic reports.
This decision comes with the news of President Donald Trump’s attendance from earlier this week, who indicated support for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The decision to change the slogan was announced earlier this week, according to two anonymous league sources who spoke to the outlet. The move comes as many corporations and institutions have scaled back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, a shift that follows the lead of Trump's controversial executive order.
Goodell insisted at the news conference that the NFL remains committed to its diversity initiatives.
“We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League,” Goodell told reporters. “And we’re going to continue those efforts, because we’ve not only convinced ourselves we’ve proven it to ourselves — it does make the NFL better.”
The slogan change has reportedly caused concern among at least one high-ranking league official, given Trump’s vocal opposition to DEI programs, according to The Athletic. However, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy attributed the decision to recent national tragedies, including a terrorist attack in New Orleans’ French Quarter in January, deadly wildfires in Los Angeles, and the fatal air collision near Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C.
“We felt it was an appropriate statement for what the country has collectively endured, given recent tragedies, and can serve as an inspiration,” McCarthy told the outlet.
He also pointed out that “Choose Love” and “It Takes All of Us” were featured in the end zones during the AFC Championship Game in Kansas City, while the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia still displayed “End Racism.”
The NFL introduced its “Inspire Change” platform in 2018, with end-zone slogans such as “End Racism,” “It Takes All of Us,” “Stop Hate,” “Choose Love,” and “Vote” becoming part of the league’s broader diversity and inclusion messaging in 2020, the Athletic reports. These changes were implemented in response to nationwide BLM protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The issue of racial injustice had been a talking point in the NFL since 2016, when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racism, sparking widespread debates.
