Brett Favre Says The NFL Is “Creating More Division” With Its “End Racism” Endzone Messages

Having the opposite effect?

We all know what was going on back in 2020, when corporations were tripping over themselves to prove how inclusive and against racism they were, rolling out meaningless gestures one after the other as most Americans just rolled their eyes at this corporate virtue signaling.

And never one to pass up on the opportunity for a meaningless PR stunt, the NFL decided back in 2020 to paint various slogans in their end zones designed to promote diversity and inclusion, with messages like “End Racism,” “Stop Hate” and “It Takes All Of Us” making appearances on the field as part of their “Inspire Change” campaign.

Clearly these did nothing but make the NFL feel like they were actually doing something good, while allowing sexual predators to sign massive contracts and doing nothing to address domestic violence within the league. Guess those players didn’t spend enough time in the endzone.

This past winter, the NFL decided to do away with the “End Racism” message for Super Bowl LIX, instead choosing to paint “Choose Love” and “It Takes All Of Us” in the end zones at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. But ahead of the 2025 season, the NFL announced that they’ll once again be bringing back their social justice messaging in the end zones, and that “End Racism” will be among the slogans that teams can choose from to stencil on their field.

Teams will have four options for their on-field messages: “End Racism,” “Stop Hate,” “Choose Love” or “Inspire Change.” The opposite end zone will once again say “It Takes All Of Us,” in case anybody was thinking about skating by on everybody else’s work inspiring change.

Speaking on the messages, NFL senior VP of social responsibility Anna Isaacson said the initiative is meant to promote “unity.”

“We’re working hand-in-hand with players, and alongside our clubs, to amplify player voices and underscore what is most important to them. For decades, the NFL and its players have been a unifying force in American culture and society that brings people of all cultures and backgrounds together to enjoy America’s most popular sport.

This is an honor and responsibility that the league takes seriously, which is why we actively invest in off-field programs and on-field initiatives that promote unity.”

But according to one NFL legend, they’re actually doing the opposite.

Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre joined Sage Steele this week for an episode of her podcast, where Favre not only opened up about his recently-revealed Parkinson’s diagnosis but was also asked what needed to be done to restore common sense in the league:

“I don’t know, no one calls me from the NFL. And that’s fine, I don’t expect them to. No one asks my advice, and that’s fine. I don’t expect them too. But I feel like you’re maintaining a divisive stance, where they may say, ‘Well we’re trying to bring everyone together.’ No, that’s not bringing everyone together.

There’s a lot of things in this world and in this country that we can be better at. And I think we continue to get better at certain things. But you’re creating more division by talking about a problem, that I’m not saying is not still a problem, racism, but I think you could do more by not talking about it. Talk about unity, and what we’ve done, and how far we’ve come.

There’s those that, they’re gonna say, ‘I’ve faced this all the time, and kudos to the NFL.’ But I think most people are over and beyond that. And I just feel like the league is the league of divisiveness.”

Favre says that up until his last year in the league, which was in 2009, politics weren’t a part of the game:

“There was never any talk in the locker room – and that’s not that long ago, in some respects – I don’t remember ever there being a political argument, or even close to a political argument. Because that was never…I don’t even know if the term conservative, Republican, Democrat, ever came up in the locker room. We didn’t know the difference. But funny how far we’ve come in a short amount of time.

And it just, to me, if their intentions are really noble, I think they could do it a different way. I really do.”

I know Favre is controversial these days, and there are plenty of people who will dismiss his message simply because of the messenger. But you have to admit that painting these messages in the endzone aren’t doing any good…and if they’re doing harm, then maybe he’s on to something.

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