National Football League officials will remove the phrase “End Racism” from the end zones at the Super Bowl this weekend, marking the first time in four years the slogan will not be used.
NFL teams can choose among various slogans to stencil in their end zones, a program launched in 2020 amid the nationwide social justice movement. Both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles instead opted for “Choose Love” as they face off at the Superdome in New Orleans this year, the first time that “End Racism” will be in neither end zone at the championship since 2021.
Other teams have also used the slogans “Vote” and “Stop Hate” throughout the season. Brian McCarthy, a spokesman for the NFL, remarked in a statement to the media that “Choose Love” is a fitting slogan to stencil in the end zones at the Super Bowl “as our country has endured in recent weeks wild fires in southern California, the terrorist attack here in New Orleans, the plane and helicopter crash near our nation’s capital, and the plane crash in Philadelphia.”
The announcement came on the same day that President Donald Trump was confirmed to be attending the Super Bowl. The returning commander-in-chief has repeatedly denounced diversity, equity, and inclusion in federal agencies and has eliminated several such programs.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell nevertheless said that the policies of the organization do not contradict the desire from Trump to remove diversity initiatives from the federal workforce.
“Our policies have been designed to be well within the law, well within the practice,” Goodell said at a news conference. “We got into diversity efforts because we felt it was the right thing for the National Football League, and we’re going to continue those efforts because we’ve not only convinced ourselves, I think we’ve proven ourselves, that it does make the NFL better.”
The removal of “End Racism” from the end zones also occurs amid a broader backlash against diversity efforts. Several prominent businesses have ended their diversity programs as public opinion and the legal environment become unfavorable toward the controversial initiatives.
