It is the morning after the big game of social consciousness and homage to the legacy of the game (that is what I saw from my perch). The endless hours of seamless connection to the past and commitment to the future, they seemed authentic enough, ok maybe that was my too many pigs in the blanket talking and still…
If LGBT, Black Lives Matter, women and babies mean so very much to the NFL….
If these priorities made the short list of precious air-time….
Enough to build a narrative, enough to invest in costly campaigns, enough to hire in, amplify out and proudly boast “look at us”….
Enough to host a Women’s Summit. Enough to attempt to tackle (yes I did) issues that haunt and plague the league….
If this matters enough, then when can we expect to see actions and not just words?
Put me in coach (mixing sports metaphors, maybe I am off base?!?!) — let’s quickly make it so that Super bowl babies and those remarkable fan parents of theirs can make their way to the game. This year, Change.org and the It’s Working Project launched #ParentsChangetheGame — the goal was simple — create spaces for families to enjoy the game — install spaces (actual rooms) in which parents can nurse, pump and change diapers while enjoying the game with other parents and outside of the vile and nasty reality of existing Family Rest Rooms or First Aid spaces. We asked. We had over twelve-thousand signatures. Not one of the stadiums was game for supporting parents via simple changes (worth noting, during the all-star break this summer, Washington Nationals put a space in that fits the bill and then some in result to a similar petition). Not one team — Not New England. Not Philly. Not San Francisco. Not Pittsburgh. Not Washington, DC. Not Detroit.
We are ready now. Now works! So how about it NFL, are you ready to step-up for parents and change the game?