NAACP asks NFL to 'rethink its relationship' with Fox, says Fox News spreads 'hatred, bigotry, lies and racism'

NAACP President Derrick Johnson penned a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell urging the league to "rethink its relationship" with Fox Corporation, saying their media agreements "should not be complicit in helping to increase the profits of Fox News" — which Johnson says spreads "hatred, bigotry, lies and racism."

What are the details?

"We are aware the NFL is currently negotiating carriage agreement renewals with broadcast partners," Johnson wrote, saying that while the NACCP looks "forward to wide distribution of American's favorite sports pastime, we have grave concerns about the ancillary implications of the League's affiliation with Fox."

He added in bold, highlighted text, "The NFL's programming should not be sued as a bargaining tool for [Fox Corporation owner] Rupert Murdoch to help fund Fox News' hatred, bigotry, lies and racism."

The NAACP president argued, "The NFL, a league where nearly 70 percent of the players are Black, should not be complicit in helping to increase the profits of Fox News, a leading voice in condemning those same players for peaceful demonstrations against systemic racism."

Johnson also asked for a meeting with NFL leadership to discuss the issue.

Johnson's letter is dated March 9, and was disclosed by multiple news outlets on Thursday — within hours of the NFL announcing its new long-term distribution agreements with its media partners.

USA Today reported that "The NFL did not immediately return a request for comment," adding:

The NFL did respond in another way, however. It announced a mega-deal on Thursday afternoon with television partners CBS, Fox, NBC, and ESPN/ABC, also, the league shifted its Thursday night package to Amazon Prime.

It's another indication of the power of the NFL. It also demonstrated that while the NAACP made a strong statement to the NFL in its letter, in the end, the NFL showed, money is the main driving force in football.

According to the Associated Press, the NFL's new deals will "nearly double its media revenue to more than $10 billion a season."

The NFL said in its news release that Fox renewed its agreement to produce its NFC package of Sunday afternoon games, and that it expanded its digital rights.

However, Fox lost its Thursday night NFL coverage to Amazon.

The AP reported:

Amazon has partnered with the league to stream Thursday night games since 2017, but it will take over the entire package from Fox, which has had it since 2018 after CBS and NBC shared the package for two seasons.