Before Sunday’s Super Bowl, the NFL told NBC News that it will take the phrase “End Racism” out of the end zones at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement on Tuesday that the Kansas City Chiefs will instead have stencils of the slogan “Choose Love” on the field when they play the Philadelphia Eagles.
NFL teams have promoted pro-diversity statements on their uniforms and at their stadiums throughout the 2024–2025 season. McCarthy stated that the league has been using the field stencils since 2020.
“This year, teams have used the phrases “Vote,” “End Racism,” “Stop Hate,” and “Choose Love” on the pitch. He remarked, “This is a part of the NFL’s Inspire Change.”
The Chiefs and Eagles had “Choose Love” and “End Racism,” respectively, on their end zones during their championship games on January 26.
On Tuesday, the NFL said that it will only use the words “Choose Love” as a stencil. For the first time since February 2021, “End Racism” will not be included in an end zone stencil at Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“The Super Bowl is often a snapshot in time and the NFL is in a unique position to capture and lift the imagination of the country,” McCarthy stated.
According to the NFL spokesperson, the term is especially appropriate given the recent tragedy the nation has experienced.
“‘Choose Love’ is appropriate to use as our country has endured in recent weeks wild fires in southern California, the terrorist attack here in New Orleans, the plane and helicopter crash near our nation s capital and the plane crash in Philadelphia,” McCarthy stated.
On the same day that a White House official informed NBC News that President Donald Trump will be attending the Super Bowl, the NFL released its statement.
“Extensive planning and coordination have been in place to ensure the safety of all attendees, players, and staff,” the Secret Service said in a statement, adding that security measures have been “further enhanced this year, given that this will be the first time a sitting President of the United States will attend the event.”
“The U.S. Secret Service has been on the ground for days, working in close collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, as well as the NFL, to implement a comprehensive security plan,” stated Anthony Guglielmi, Chief of Communications for the U.S. Secret Service.
Since taking office, Trump has made it clear that he opposes DEI. On his first day, he signed an executive order ending DEI programs in federal agencies and placing staff members in those programs on leave.
Trump also attacked DEI, claiming diversity policies were to blame for the fatal midair collision of an American Airlines plane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter in the Washington, D.C., area last week. McCarthy cited this incident as one of the tragedies that inspired the “Choose Love” slogan.
In a news conference on Monday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that he does not believe Trump’s efforts to end DEI programs are at odds with the league’s diversity-promoting policy.
As said during the news conference, “Our policies have been designed to be well within the law, well within the practice.” Our system does not have quotas. Opening that funnel and attracting the top players to the NFL is the goal here.
The NFL’s policies, the commissioner continued, are in line “with the current administration as well as the last administration.”
We started diversity initiatives because we thought it was the right thing to do for the NFL, and we’re going to keep going because we’ve not only persuaded ourselves, but I believe we’ve shown that it does improve the NFL,” Goodell stated.