The National Football League, through its "Inspire Change" social justice
program, is providing financial support to multiple groups that openly
advocate for the defunding or abolishment of police, Fox News reported this
week.

What are the details?
Following a review of the NFL's "Inspire Change" program partners, the news
outlet reportedly discovered that among the 33 organizations that receive
financial backing from the multibillion-dollar league are three that espouse
highly controversial beliefs.

The organizations in question are the Vera Institute of Justice, the Oregon
Justice Resource Center, and the Community Justice Exchange, all of which
openly support anti-law enforcement causes.

Vera Institute of Justice President Nicholas Turner wrote in June 2020 that
his organization "is committed to dismantling the current culture of policing
and working toward solutions that defund police and shift power to
communities."

In the blog post, Turner celebrated the Minneapolis city council's attempt to
disband the local police department in the wake of George Floyd's death. The
move was ultimately rejected by voters in a ballot initiative last month.

The Oregon Justice Resource Center has also not been shy about its anti-
police and anti-racist motivations.

In a tweet last year, the group lamented, "The brutality of [law enforcement]
& cruelty of our prisons are connected by the same malignant tumor: white
supremacy," adding, "We must dismantle/defund it all."

The Community Justice Exchange states on its website that it is an
"abolitionist organization" that "is working towards a world without prisons,
policing, prosecution, surveillance or any form of detention or supervision."

Fox News noted that the group's work includes the publishing of a roadmap to
"prison abolition."

On the "Inspire Change" webpage, the NFL boasts that its support of the group
funds the creation of "75+ local community-based bail and bond funds, working
to end money bail and pre-trial detention at the local level and immigration
detention at the national level."

While it is broadly understood that the NFL financially supports a wide range
of progressive social justice causes, the fact that it specifically supports
"defund the police" organizations is a new revelation � and one that may be
troubling for fans of the league.

In a statement to Fox News, a league spokesperson defended its selection of
the three controversial organizations as well as its support for their
causes.

"Our 33 social justice grant partners have been selected based on the
critical work that they have done surrounding Inspire Change�s four pillars �
education, economic advancement, criminal justice reform, and police &
community relations � to break down barriers to opportunity, end systemic
racism, and bridge the gap between members of law enforcement and the
communities they serve," the spokesperson said. "We stand by the work our
grant partners have done and the lasting positive impact made in communities
across the country."

--
Let's go Brandon!