Fame, Fortune and Fear: What It Means to Be Black in the NFL

About five months ago, one of the NFL’s better defensive players stopped his car on a side street in the suburbs of Dallas. He’d been visiting friends. A police car had pulled him over even though, the player said, he was traveling five miles under the speed limit.

The officer, who was white, asked for the player’s license and registration. When the player, who is African-American, asked why he’d been stopped, he says the officer told him: “Just routine stuff, no big deal.”

The player says the officer looked at his license and seemed to suddenly recognize him. The traffic stop ended. “Sorry, good luck to you,” the officer said. He then got in his car and drove off.

The player felt conflicted. “How many black drivers were stopped and harassed by that officer for no reason?” the player remembers. “I was able to escape it because he knew I had the money and power to fight him.”

Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem didn’t just expose the differences between how some African-Americans and others view freedom of expression. It was also a window, in many ways, into what it means to be a black NFL player.

Players say that while the money and power of football give them opportunities and wealth few Americans possess, there are daily reminders that they are African-Americans in a country still dealing with its sometimes ugly and complicated past and present.

NFL players live a life they appreciate and love. They wake up, go to work and then go home, like tens of millions of other Americans.

They stop to get coffee, order takeout and go to dinner with their wives and children. They see movies, go to clubs and pay their cable bills.

Yet black players also describe random traffic stops by police, being denied service at restaurants or being routinely subjected to racial slurs from fans at road games.

This is why so many African-American players have backed Kaepernick and his protest. They say what they face outside of football is bigger than football. Dozens of NFL players have come to kneel during the anthem. Or raise fists as the anthem plays.

“Football doesn’t insulate us from bigotry,” said one black player.

In interviews with 14 players (10 of whom are black), B/R was able to piece together the complex puzzle of what life is like in the NFL for black players. One spoke of receiving racist hate mail weekly. Another said he received a letter recently that had over two dozen mentions of the word “nigger.”

Yet another recalled a time recently when he and a small group of African-American teammates went to a new restaurant in town, an NFL city, and were told there was no seating, despite the restaurant being half full. When the players asked for a manager, they said the manager threatened to call the police.

Often driving luxury cars, many of the players interviewed said they are stopped routinely by police. They are followed or watched in stores, they said.

One player told of pulling up to a gas pump at a station just outside of his NFL city. The attendant rushed out of the store, not to operate the pump, but to insist the player pay up front with cash.

Inside the locker room, an interesting phenomenon is developing within some organizations. Kaepernick’s protests have united many players and members of the coaching staff. Coaches, players said, have largely supported any player who wanted to publicly express support for Kaepernick.

However, players also said there’s been a strain between the locker room and teams’ front offices, some of which, these players explained, have distanced themselves from the players who support Kaepernick.

“Some front offices have actively discouraged their players from supporting Kaepernick,” one player explained.

Many of the players interviewed asked not to be identified due to fear of repercussions from team officials or fans.

Players interviewed saved their harshest words for commissioner Roger Goodell. The overriding criticism is that Goodell has shown a lack of understanding—and care—for why Kaepernick and others are protesting.

After initially remaining mostly silent as the Kaepernick story became a national one, Goodell has since been more vocal.

“We encourage our players to be active in their communities and to speak out when they see things that should be changed,” Goodell said opening weekend, when he attended the game between Washington and Pittsburgh. “And they’re reactive in doing that. They have that voice….

“Yes, we want them to respect the flag. We want them to respect the military personnel. And I think that they do. But they’re all working to try to see how they can have a positive impact in their communities.”

What players say is similar to what NFL players have said for decades. Players understand the life of prosperity the NFL provides, but they also know they are still subject to the same indignities that non-NFL …

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