Two big L’s in a row

Those who refuse to acknowledge the racial injustice awakening going on in our country this summer took two big L’s within the last week or so.

They lost the NFL – the league now admits it was wrong not to support the right of players to express their feelings about police brutality in black communities. There is talk that Commissioner Goodell may take a knee with the players during the first National Anthem ceremony as the league reopens.

Then they lost NASCAR – which has officially banned the Confederate flag from all of their events, thanks to the activism of the only black driver competing at high levels in the sport, Bubba Wallace. His fellow drivers coalesced around his one-man movement and the sport recognized the crucial role it has to play. Old traditions die hard in places like Talladega, so this one was a bigger surprise. I read somewhere that 70% of NFL players are black, so that one was less surprising. The 24-hour, 180 degree turn by Drew Brees tells you that we are moving forward and never going back as a culture.

The cliché “tipping point” gets thrown around a lot, but in this case, the events of the last few weeks are an obvious tipping point.

Lastly, I really want you to find the time to listen to CC Sabathia on the Bill Simmons podcast. The Yankees great talks about how the first driving lesson he gave to his teenage son was how to deal with the police. It’s hard to imagine for many of you, and for me, but the matter-of-fact way in which he describes this priority was very affecting. Listen here at The Ringer.