OPINION: 5 Ways Super Bowl LII Failed Black Folks

The NFL missed a valuable chance to use the Super Bowl as a way to try to mend fences with the throngs of Blacks fans it’s lost since Colin Kaepernick was blackballed by the league. Instead, the league showed it wasn’t really concerned with any of the fallout over the quarterback’s quest for social justice that cost him his job.

From the commercials to the controversial halftime performance, and much more, here are five ways Super Bowl LII failed Black folks.

MLK Dodge commercial

First and foremost, the group of overpaid, probably White executives who signed off on creating a car commercial featuring a voiceover from Martin Luther King Jr. – during Black History Month, no less – could have used some diversityprotest advocating for social justice for Black people, there wasn’t one single report of a player on either Super Bowl team taking a knee during the singing of the national anthem. The lack of action probably thrilled NFL executives, who have been looking to sweep the controversy under the rug.

Considering the above, and considering the timing of the game, the concept of the big game being played during Black History Month was conspicuously missing from any commentary before, during and after the game. In a professional sports league where 70 percent of the players are Black, and with the current racial climate in the country, it’s the least the NFL could do.

Halftime performance

Yes, the way Timberlake used Prince’s image was shameless and tacky, but the fact that the