Slave auction reimagined

“Those who argue that progress takes time might likely support the institution of slavery.” Dr. BLR

 

The NFL recently held its 2026 draft, and thousands of people were glued to their televisions, computers, cellphones, or tablets, waiting to see who their team would draft. I’m not going to lie; I anxiously watched to see who the Pittsburgh Steelers would select as well. I was happy with their selections, but then again, I had reservations about the entire selection process. 

Prior to the draft, each player must undergo extensive physical and medical evaluations to ensure they are prepared to showcase their athletic prowess before a group of coaches and scouts. While this is part of the process, you must ask who set it up and why. According to the 2026 NFL demographic breakdown, “Blacks account for approximately 53.5%–54.2% of players, while White players constitute about 25–27%, and 9–9.4% identify as multiracial.” More than likely, under America’s one-drop rule, multiracial players would be considered Black as well, making the NFL approximately 70% Black. Given this, the overwhelming number of young Black males running to get drafted should come as no surprise. However, who are they being drafted by? It should be no surprise that, like many business entities in the United States, NFL ownership is approximately 94% white males, whose wealth derives from inheritance, oil, real estate, banking, and restaurants, just to name a few. I cannot blame anyone for making money or criticize them for how they acquired it. Wait! Yes, I can and will.

This is and will always be the same tired playbook white supremacy uses to control its employees. I compare it to the days of sharecropping, when slaveowners lost the right to own human beings but kept the formerly enslaved tied to the land through unscrupulous deals. NFL owners will pay their players millions of dollars to risk their lives in hopes of generating billions in revenue. In other words, a return on investment. I can’t throw any shade because some players will make generational wealth if they invest properly. Yet this doesn’t relieve the owners of the same practice they had in the past: exploitation. Naysayers will claim that the players understood the risks and financial gains, but injuries sustained while playing a contact sport often don’t surface until years later, after the players have been forced to retire or released by their teams. 

In recent years, medical professionals, in conjunction with the NFL Players Association, have begun studying the long-term effects of head injuries on retired football players. They have implemented procedures to assess players during games who show signs of a concussion. The clinical diagnosis for such injuries is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). While this may appear to show that the league cares, it only masks the real problem: football is a violent sport. Yet it is watched by millions around the globe, and it says a lot about the fans, including me. 

The world is filled with economic problems, but the NFL owners and players are immune to the financial issues faced by everyday people. However, I am old enough and a realist. These owners only like us when we make money for them, and we’re discarded once we no longer do; otherwise, we’d be viewed as the perp who scares them and precipitates a 9-1-1 call. Corporate America, you are who we thought you were. The swarming fly seeks out any food source, only to be discarded when it dries up or can no longer produce.