NFL and Players Agree to Virtual Off-Season Program
As the coronavirus plays itself out, professional sports leagues are changing protocols and rules until it’s safe to take the field again. Due to the league being in off-season mode, the NFL and its players’ union have agreed on how they will conduct the off-season functions while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hold everyone on lockdown.
The National Football League and The NFL Players Association have mutually reached an agreement on a voluntary off-season program set to begin on April 20, Although no on-field work is allowed, the virtual period of the program can begin next week until all 32 club facilities can reopen.
“Both our Executive committee and Board of Player Reps have voted unanimously to approve a virtual off-season program up until the start of training camp,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “We will be sending out all the details and setting up calls with players and agents for how this will work shortly.”
Club facilities will open in accordance with strict NFL protocols and federal, state, and local rules and regulations. The virtual period will consist of three consecutive weeks of classroom instruction, workouts, and non-football educational programs using videoconferencing technology. An extra voluntary veteran camp will be available for new coaches, with the virtual period ending no later than May 15.
NFL teams will be allowed to send players workout equipment and monitoring devices such as kettle-bells, resistance bands, Apple watches, etc. The cost for the equipment and/or devices isn’t allowed to exceed $1,500 for any individual player.
If club facilities do not reopen during this off-season program, which concludes June 26, there will be an additional option for teams. Teams can conduct a mandatory veteran mini-camp, which can be done virtually, but with limits of two hours of classroom time and two hours of workout time.
As long as the restrictions are in place, this plan provides the NFL’s 32 team franchises with guidelines and a framework within which they can plan and conduct off-season programs.
The plan was approved Monday via a vote between the NFLPA and NFL management council.
Former President Barack Obama has officially come out in support of his former vice president. On Tuesday, Obama released a statement endorsing Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee in the 2020 race for the White House. The announcement comes shortly after Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed his former rival.
“Joe was there as we rebuilt from the Great Recession and rescued the American auto industry. He was the one asking what every policy would do for the middle class and everyone striving to get into the middle class,” wrote Obama in a press statement. “That’s why I asked him to implement the Recovery Act, which saved millions of jobs and got people back on their feet – because Joe gets stuff done…Joe helped me manage H1N1 and prevent the Ebola epidemic from becoming the type of pandemic we’re seeing now. He helped me restore America’s standing and leadership in the world on the other threats of our time, like nuclear proliferation and climate change.”
The former president made the announcement on his Twitter page and shared a video praising Biden and stating why he would be a great president. He also stressed the importance of voting in the upcoming election in the wake of the global COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic.
“Right now, we need Americans of goodwill to unite in a great awakening against a politics that too often has been characterized by corruption, carelessness, self-dealing, disinformation, ignorance, and just plain meanness,” explains Obama in the video. “And to change that, we need Americans of all political stripes to get involved in our politics and our public life like never before.”
Oprah Winfrey Reports on The Deadly Impact of COVID-19 on Black America on Apple TV
Black people in America are being disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. According to reports, blacks make up for about half of the confirmed cases and deaths related to the virus. As lawmakers and medical professionals call on the government to release racial data related to the coronavirus, Apple TV has called on Oprah Winfrey to cover COVID-19’s deadly impact on black America.
Winfrey is known for being able to gain access to people who are often overlooked and receive answers to questions others forget to ask. For those reasons and more, Apple TV teamed up with Winfrey as she sheds more light on the adverse and devastating effects the coronavirus pandemic is having on black people across the country.
The special presentation, Oprah Winfrey Talks COVID-19 – The Deadly Impact on Black America, is set to premiere Tuesday, April 14 at 11:00 pm ET/8:00 pm PT on Apple TV+ for free without a subscription, with a special airing on OWN.
Through a series of intimate remote conversations, Winfrey explores how black America and the country can move forward during the international crisis.
During the presentation, Winfrey speaks with leaders, families, journalists, and politicians in the black community.
She also sat down with Van Jones, CNN host & CEO of Reform Alliance; Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot; Dr. Aletha Maybank, Chief Health Equity Officer at the American Medical Association; and Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times staff writer and founder of 1619 Project, with additional guests joining in from their respective remote locations around the country to share what Americans need to know about how COVID-19 is impacting certain regions; how people can support those most in need; and hear personal experiences from those on the frontline fighting this pandemic. Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson gives a heartwarming and inspiring musical performance.
Oprah and Van Jones
Tune in to the special presentation for free and hear from experts and people facing challenges that provide insight, meaning, and tangible advice for the human spirit.
Experts Say Concerts, Conferences, and Large-Scale Events Shouldn’t Resume Until Fall 2021
While many of us have been entertained by the virtual DJ parties and happy hours over Netflix, the country has been eager to find out when life will return to normal. Since the start of the COVID-19 (also known as the novel coronavirus) pandemic, numerous cities and countries have issued mandatory lockdowns, advising residents to stay at home and closing businesses deemed “non-essential” to curb the spread of the virus.
Now, experts say large-scale events such as concerts may not return until late 2021.
In an interview with the New York Times Magazine, experts from different fields spoke about the steps it would take for the country and economy to completely open back up. Zeke Emanuel, vice provost for global initiatives and director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, told the magazine that he felt that the Trump administration’s initial plan to reopen the economy in June was unrealistic and that we would most likely not be completely open until fall 2021.
“Certain kinds of construction, or manufacturing or offices, in which you can maintain six-foot distances are more reasonable to start sooner,” Emanuel told the New York Times Magazine. “Larger gatherings—conferences, concerts, sporting events—when people say they’re going to reschedule this conference or graduation event for October 2020, I have no idea how they think that’s a plausible possibility. I think those things will be the last to return. Realistically we’re talking fall 2021 at the earliest.” Emanuel added that other institutions such as restaurants could reopen sooner under certain social distancing guidelines.
Other experts, however, worry about the consequences an extended quarantine can have on both the economy and people. “Yes, people will die if we open up, but the consequences of not opening up are so severe that maybe we’ve got to do it anyway,” explained Peter Singer, a bioethics professor at Princeton. “If we keep it locked down, then more younger people are going to die because they’re basically not going to get enough to eat or other basics. So, those trade-offs will come out differently in different countries.”
Last week the World Health Organization warned countries about easing social distancing and quarantine restrictions too early, which can potentially cause a new wave of infected cases.
“If people delay care or avoid it because they can’t afford it, they not only harm themselves, they make the pandemic harder to control and put society at risk,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an agency briefing in Geneva.
“This is an unprecedented crisis which demands an unprecedented response.”
African Residents Say They’re Being Discriminated Against in Chinese City Following Mandatory Quarantine
African residents in Guangzhou, China, are reporting incidents of discrimination after the government ordered all residents of African descent to quarantine for 14 days.
The city of Guangzhou has 463 cases of COVID-19, but officials say 111 cases are imported from other countries. Officials said last Monday 10 cases were linked to the business district known as “Little Africa,” including five cases linked to a single restaurant.
According to Forbes.com, after the cluster at the restaurant, the government issued a two-week quarantine for all 4,500 residents of African descent. Under the order, African residents must quarantine for 14 days “regardless of their previous circumstances or how long they have been in Guangzhou.”
The South China Morning Post added that African residents’ homes will be monitored with tracking devices to alert officials if they “open the door.”
Since the quarantine started, African residents have reported being banned from businesses and being evicted from homes. Nigerian diplomats have tried to step in to help, delivering food to their now-homeless compatriots.
Foreign ministers of Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria have begun to speak out in protest. The diplomats sent a joint letter to China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressing their disgust.
“The Group of African Ambassadors in Beijing immediately demands the cessation of forceful testing, quarantine, and other inhuman treatments meted out to Africans.”
Chinese officials have denied the clams. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the Chinese government “treats all foreign personnel in China equally, opposes any differential practices targeting specific groups of people, and has zero tolerance for discriminatory words and deeds.”
Evidence would suggest otherwise. The South China Postreported that the U.S. consulate in Guangzhou has advised African Americans to stop traveling to the city. Additionally, a McDonald’s in the city was featured in a Twitter post showing a sign that read “We have been informed that from now on black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant.”
McDonald’s said it “immediately removed the communication and temporarily closed the restaurant” as it was “not representative of our inclusive values.”
Racial incidents during the COVID-19 outbreak is nothing new. President Trump has repeatedly labeled the illness the “Chinese virus” even doubling down on his use of the term.
China claims its at the tail end of the virus outbreak and has begun to reopen areas, including the market the virus originated from. No new safety designs have been implemented.
Burrell Communications VP Corey Seaton Talks About Featuring Legendary Negro League Player Jim Robinson in Toyota Ad
When Toyota was planning the release of the latest Highlander, the auto dealer called on Burrell Communications, one of the largest black-owned ad agencies in the nation, to develop a concept that would help sell the vehicle.
Black Enterprise spoke to Corey Seaton, VP Creative Director at Burrell Communications, about what went into the development of the promotion, which featured one of the last living Negro League players, Kansas City Monarchs’ Jim Robinson.
BE: What was the thought process regarding how to utilize Kansas City Monarchs’ Jim Robinson within the Toyota Highlander ad campaign that also celebrated the Negro League’s Baseball Centennial?
Seaton: A huge benefit of the Toyota Highlander is its three-row seating. But rather than showing the typical nuclear family, we wanted to put an emotion spin on that by showing multiple generations of an African American family. We knew the patriarch of that family should be special, heroic. So when we discovered 2020 is the centennial of the Negro Leagues, it led us to Mr. Robinson, one of the last living Negro League players. Once we identified him, all the pieces of the puzzle began to connect in a really special way.
Outside of increasing sales for the Highlander, what do you want people to get out of this particular campaign, and how do you come up with the concepts and ideas for whatever project you are working on?
I hope they feel a great sense of cultural pride seeing Mr. Robinson, the Negro League and the Kansas City Monarchs being acknowledged on a national platform, but a major brand. There’s no blueprint for creative concepting; we draw inspiration from an endless well of sources, but our intent is to always do it in a culturally engaging way.
Are you working on any projects that you’re particularly excited about?
Black culture provides so much to be excited about. New conversations, people, music, fashion, and trends are constantly bubbling up to the spotlight, waiting to be explored, celebrated, and shared. Our work lives at that intersection of creativity and culture.
On this particular campaign with the Negro Leagues, was there another concept or idea that could have been an alternative that would have gotten the same or similar message across?
We created another commercial within the same campaign that features four African American women attending a Kentucky Derby-like event. It’s upbeat and fun with a strong sense of style. All of the women wear unique hats, but our Highlander driver reveals her hat is the show stopper at the derby. We highlight the idea that the Highlander is an SUV you can “show up, and show out” in.
What’s the most important thing to you when working on the creatives of campaigns like this one?
I’m constantly reminded African Americans don’t see enough positive representations of themselves in the broadcast and digital space. So it’s really important to me that they see authentic reflections of themselves in the work. Whether it’s the diversity of their stories and lifestyles, to representing the full spectrum of their hair and skin tones, we want them to know that we see and acknowledge their excellence.
Human Rights Campaign’s First Black President Calls for America to Do Right By COVID-19’s Most Vulnerable
It’s a phrase most African Americans know and understand all too well: When America gets a cold, Black America gets the flu. So, it wasn’t entirely surprising when news broke last week that, nationwide, African Americans are disproportionately contracting COVID-19 and dying at a higher rate than whites.
In cities from New York to Philadelphia to New Orleans and Chicago, headlines sounded the same catastrophic coronavirus alarm for people of color. According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, in Michigan alone, where just 14% of the population is black, the black community accounts for 35% of confirmed cases and 41% of the deaths.
While COVID-19 testing and data collection are still inconsistent throughout the nation, and only a few jurisdictions publicly report coronavirus cases and deaths by race, the devastating toll on black communities is becoming clear and has already prompted organizations like the Black Economic Alliance to raise funds in partnership with BET to help relieve the undue burden on the most vulnerable black Americans.
Now, new research from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is illuminating the fact that the LGBTQ community is also particularly at risk to suffer disproportionately in the face of this pandemic largely because, like people of color, LGBTQ Americans are more likely than whites to live in poverty and lack access to sufficient medical care, paid medical leave, and even the basic necessities for self-care at home.
Other factors, according to the HRC research brief, are that LGBTQ Americans have a high incidence of smoking and chronic underlying diseases like asthma, and are more likely to work in jobs that place them at higher risk for contracting the disease, including restaurants, hotels, and hospitals.
In a statement issued yesterday, Alphonso David, president of the HRC, called on Congress to “take this impact into account in future stimulus packages so that we can urgently meet the needs of our communities.”
He is also calling for better data collection and reporting in every state so that the true impact can be accurately tracked and addressed.
“We cannot ignore the role that bias plays in health disparities,” David said, “and for that reason HRC has long called for inclusive data collection to ensure that all people are counted.”
Primed By A Painful Past to Lead In Perilous Times
David, who has led the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights organization since August 2019, was born in Maryland but spent most of his first decade of life in Liberia, the West African country where his family was prominent and his great uncle, William Tolbert, was the country’s president.
A 1980 military coup changed his family’s life forever, leaving his uncle dead, his father in prison, and his remaining family under house arrest.
At 14, David and his family escaped Liberia for Baltimore where any relief offered from the distance of a war-torn country was soon replaced by a new struggle: David’s rude awakening to the realities of life as a black male immigrant in the U.S. Often socially outcast, he felt decidedly “other,” a feeling that intensified as he also came to understand that he was gay.
After his father disowned him, he poured his pain into purpose, becoming a lawyer intent on defending people’s civil rights. After a clerkship and stints as an associate at Blank Rome in Philadelphia and as a staff attorney at the Lambda Legal Defense and Educational Fund, David was appointed as New York governor Andrew Cuomo’s Deputy Secretary and Counsel for Civil Rights.
While in that role, he helped to spearhead the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state ahead of most of the nation. David ultimately became Cuomo’s chief counsel. When he left Albany for DC, his role at the helm of the HRC made him its first black president.
“I don’t have to tell anyone that this is a perilous time,” David says in a video introducing himself to the HRC community, “but in this moment …. I believe in the black trans woman who is preparing for that big interview. I believe in the young queer immigrant who came to this country so they could live authentically.
“If we want to win full equality,” he continues, “that’s going to require us to come together and tenaciously defend the most vulnerable among us. In unity, we will fight back and we will win.”
Michelle Obama’s ‘When We All Vote’ Group Backs Expanding Voting Options for 2020
Voter suppression is an issue that needs to be addressed, especially during a presidential election year. Former first lady Michelle Obama is fighting to expand the electorate through her “When We All Vote” campaign, which pushes for better access to voting by way of mail, early in-person voting, and online voter registration. With the ongoing impact of COVID-19, the support for these measures is to promote fair and safe access to the 2020 primaries and general election while granting every American the right to cast their ballot safely and without unnecessary risk.
“Americans should never have to choose between making their voices heard and keeping themselves and their families safe. We know that barriers to voting existed before this crisis, especially for young people and communities of color. Expanding access to vote-by-mail, online voter registration and early voting are critical steps for this moment— and they’re long overdue. There is nothing partisan about striving to live up to the promise of our country; making the democracy we all cherish more accessible; and protecting our neighbors, friends and loved ones as they participate in this cornerstone of American life,” said When We All Vote Co-Chair Michelle Obama.
“If the U.S. expects to lead the world in conducting free and fair elections, then we owe it to our citizens to do everything in our power to make sure our elections are safe and fair for everyone. Our mission as an organization is to change the culture around voting and help increase voter participation in every election by closing the race and age gap. So it’s our responsibility to help all voters exercise their right to vote, and to give them the best information on exactly how to do that. It’s also our responsibility to advocate for fair and safe access to our elections,” said Valerie Jarrett, When We All Vote Board Chair.
When We All Vote will encourage Americans to:
Take Action: Join the movement to advocate for these principles and ensure voters are educated about how they can register and vote.
Get Informed: Learn about the voting policies in their states and get to know their options for registering and voting-by-mail.
Share with three Friends: Let them know how to get registered to vote, vote early in-person or vote-by-mail. Check out these voter resources for more information.
Call or email their federal legislators and let them know they support expanding access to vote-by-mail.
Luxury Wig Company Donates Thousands of Medical Supplies to NYC Hospital For COVID-19 Relief
The novel coronavirus pandemic has devastated cities and countries around the world and transformed into one of the greatest public health crisis in modern history. One hair entrepreneur is using her company to give back to healthcare professionals who are fighting on the frontlines to combat and contain the viral outbreak.
RPGSHOW, a luxury wigs provider, is teaming up with its sister company, MyFirstWig, to give back to the community with a donation of vital PPE materials to various hospitals in New York City and other areas battling COVID-19. The luxury wigs retailer coordinated a donation of nearly 7,000 masks to medical professionals in New York City. This also includes 1,000 highly sought after N95 masks, 5,500 regular medical masks, and protective eyewear.
Hospitals set to receive these materials include the NYU Langone Medical Center, Mount Sinai, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts.
Black-Owned Businesses Cannot Be Left Behind In Coronavirus Economic Relief
The federal government is trying to keep small businesses alive with the passing of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package, but black-owned businesses cannot be left behind.
According to the Brookings Institute, black-owned businesses are highly involved in the outbreak. Black-owned firms with paid employees generate over $103 billion in revenue annually. The largest share (about $17 billion) is earned in the healthcare and social assistance sector.
Almost 30% of all black-owned businesses are independent practices of physicians, or continuing care/assisted living and youth services. Another 10% are in the administrative and support services, such as call centers, temp agencies, collection bureaus, as well as recycling and waste management facilities.
These positions put black-owned businesses in the center of the coronavirus outbreak.
According to Contexts, a social research magazine, the median white family has roughly 10 times the amount of wealth as the median black family, meaning black-owned businesses generally have less cushion to overcome economic turmoil. Brookings also found almost two-thirds of white-owned businesses that existed in 2002 were still in business in 2011, compared to just under half of black-owned firms.
Even worse is when the economy reopens and money is moving again, potential black owners rarely get money to invest in new businesses. According to Brookings, before the outbreak, only 1% of black business owners obtained loans in their founding year, compared to 7% of white business owners.
Minority-owned businesses, in general, earn significantly higher ratings on Yelp than white-owned firms according to research by Brookings and Gallup.
African Americans and minorities are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. They’re more likely to have to travel to work and more likely to work around strangers putting themselves at risk. Even death rates due to coronavirus are higher in African Americans than any other race.
Many national companies are currently running coronavirus-related advertisements pushing unity in a time of crisis but what about when the virus is no longer a threat?
