By Erin Tiernan
Boston Herald
BOSTON — Massachusetts state troopers are joining other law enforcement groups in condemning the NFL for funding organizations that support defunding the police.
“SPAM stands in solidarity with our brothers and sisters from the National Troopers Coalition in condemning the NFL for their support and funding of movements that aim to disband, dismantle and attack law and order,” the union representing state troopers said in a statement posted on social media. “Our members have always and will continue to answer the calls for service without hesitation whether the NFL has our backs or not. We know the truth. The time for anti-police rhetoric has come and gone.”
The National Football League is reportedly funneling money to anti-cop groups that openly advocate for the abolition or defunding of police, Fox News reported last week.
The NTC was the first police group to speak out, saying its members are “troubled” that the NFL has chosen to support organizations including the Vera Institute of Justice, the Oregon Justice Resource Center and the Community Justice Exchange — organizations that espouse anti-police rhetoric in their public statements.
It asked the NFL to “reconsider” its support.
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In a statement to Fox News, an NFL spokesperson said, “Our 33 social justice grant partners have been selected based on the critical work that they have done surrounding Inspire Change’s four pillars — education, economic advancement, criminal justice reform and police & community relations — to break down barriers to opportunity, end systemic racism and bridge the gap between members of law enforcement and the communities they serve.”
The NTC said, “supporting groups that want to upend and cause turmoil to our American society is extremely disappointing. The “defund the police movement’ has proven itself to be a failure and has only increased violent crime against this nation’s most vulnerable citizens.”
The NFL’s Inspire Change initiative was created in partnership with players and clubs “as part of an ongoing acknowledgment of the ways that systemic racism contributes to barriers to opportunity and equality.”
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