Organizations have given employees a paid day off for Juneteenth, commemorating June 19, 1865 – on which slavery in the United States was ended. The NFL and its teams led the movement with nearly all organizations making it an observed paid holiday; the results were less consistent across other leagues.

Companies across the country, including Nike and Twitter, also have made June 19 a paid holiday.

More Juneteenth Initiatives: 

• The Seattle Mariners, with an MLB-leading 10 African-American players on their roster, will host a panel on the team’s YouTube channel.
• Along with giving employees the day off, the Los Angeles Rams will reimburse employees for lunches at Black-owned restaurants.
• The New York Knicks and Rangers hosted a youth symposium on Thursday led by former Knicks player Allan Houston.
• While other Dallas area teams gave employees the day off, the Texas Rangers will use the day to educate their staff on the importance of the date.
• LAFC advocated making the date a federal holiday.

Negotiations to get an MLB season underway continued Thursday as the players submitted a 70-game counterproposal to the team owners. The owners had made a 60-game offer Tuesday after it appeared discussions had all but died. The owners’ most recent proposal included a full prorated salary for players – a significant roadblock in previous offers.

The new players’ offer includes the 10 additional games, along with expanded playoffs for both 2020 and 2021 – including $50 million in playoff bonuses for 2020 and a 50-50 split of incremental TV revenues in 2021. The union also proposed that teams could sell advertisements on uniforms, a potentially lucrative revenue source that MLB has tested outside the U.S. The success of the NBA’s jersey patch program may serve as a comparison for MLB – the average NBA jersey patch deal is worth $6.5 million annually.

Notable Proposal Elements:

• Universal DH
• Neutral site/quarantine if needed for 2020 postseason
• Salary advance forgiveness
• Mutual waiver of grievance

With coronavirus case numbers rising as more states across the U.S. open up, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the football season might be at risk. “If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year,” Fauci told CNN Wednesday.

Fauci suggested that the NFL might even have to follow other leagues’ leads in setting up a ‘bubble’ environment. “Unless players are essentially in a bubble – insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day – it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall,” he said.

The NFL has proceeded with its offseason as scheduled, and the season is still slated to start on Sept. 10. The league has been working to implement safety protocols to limit the effects of the pandemic. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, issued a response to Fauci on Thursday, saying, “We will be flexible and adaptable in this environment to adjust to the virus as needed.”

As Colin Kaepernick’s potential return to the NFL has taken a turn in the right direction, the former quarterback has joined online publishing platform Medium as a board member. Kaepernick, who launched his own publishing company earlier this year, will lead a new interview series called “Conversations with Colin.” He will interview athletes, activists, and thought leaders on Medium’s new vertical focused on race and prison reform.

Amplified Voices: 

• Renee Montgomery, a guard for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, will opt out of the WNBA’s season to focus on off-the-court work. Fellow WNBA star Maya Moore has also continued her quest for justice.
• Oscar-winning former NFL player Matthew A. Cherry has signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Television to develop and produce projects to help amplify marginalized voices.
• New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins recently joined CNN as a social justice issues contributor. On Wednesday, Jenkins told Wolf Blitzer, “Before I became an athlete, I was Black.”