NFL commi sioner Roger Goodell did not consult withteam owners before recording his "We, the National Football League" statement Friday afternoon, .Goodell instead gave a small group of owners a "head's up" that he was making a statement.

Those owners were supportive, sources told Maske. Goodell also alerted the NFL Players A sociation, per Maske's Blank Jersey report.(Subscription required.)

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One source, whom Maske termed a Goodell a sociate,said Goodell's current positive standing with owners gavehim cover to act unilaterally.

"Post-second CBA, Roger is on incredibly firm ground with these guys, given the clout of his financial accomplishments," Maske quoted the source as saying. "This is closer to his personal politics than people know, Nelson Cruz Jersey and he has always had a much better personal relationship with certain players than he gets credit for."

In his statement, Goodell repeated parts of what a group of 18players, led by Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, asked the league to say. They wanted to hear a denunciation of racismand the league's suppre sion of peaceful protests, and an acknowledgment that black lives matter.

Goodell deviated from the script with regard to the protests but followed the other parts verbatim.

We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic Donnie Walton Jersey oppre sion of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter.

NFL (@NFL)

Maske reported that Goodell recorded his statement after taking part in a town hall titled "A Discu sion on Race & Injustice." The Dee Gordon Jersey town hall took place le s than a week after Goodell and the league were widely criticized, including internally, for against the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

An NFL video producer, Brandon Mynter, that he wanted something more out of the league, so Randy Johnson Jersey he worked on his own to get players to speak out. Thomas agreed to organize a Zoom video call, and the players' video was produced Thursday.

While Thomas and other players received Goodell's video positively, there was also criticism that Goodell did not apologize to former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for the league and owners' opposition to his protestsagainst police brutality and racial injustice, first by sitting and then by kneeling during the national anthem.

Kaepernick last played in the NFL in 2016, the year he held his protests. He and former teammate Eric Reid, who Austin Nola Jersey also protested,sued the league for collusion, claiming they wereblackballed. The lawsuit was settled last year. The Panthers signed Reid in 2018, gave him a three-year contract extension in 2019and cut him last March.