The San Francisco 49ers Have Not Played the Racial Diversity Ad

Letters to the Editor: Hey, Dodgers, care to comment on that racist ad played during the playoffs?

What is it, the Red Sox, the Philadelphia Eagles or the Pittsburgh Steelers are the best team in the National Football League? That ad might be one of the dumbest of all-time.

Here is a chance to say something.

CEDAR FALLS — A couple of weeks ago, when I read a story in the New York Times about a “diversity” ad campaign run in San Francisco by the Super Bowl-winning 49ers, I thought it was a joke or a gimmick.

I did not expect the story to make the news. Then, the other day, I read another story in the Times about another racial ad campaign, this time in Oakland, Calif. During Monday night’s Oakland-San Francisco game, the 49ers, a team owned by my husband’s father, ran a “racial diversity initiative” during the game. The ads were paid for by a local nonprofit organization called the “Racial Justice League.”

As I read the ads and I thought of my own response to them, I thought, “It seems the 49ers have not learned from the ‘diversity’ ad campaign in Oakland. It seems as if they are merely playing right into the hands of their supporters.”

So, I contacted the “Racial Justice League” and asked them to comment on the “racial diversity initiative” in San Francisco.

My email to the leader of the “Racial Justice League” was received by an unknown person who identified herself as a “corporate spokesperson.” I was given no information about the organization and was simply asked to send a response.

In the email I sent to the “Racial Justice League,” I explained that some people are critical of the use of racial diversity in ads but that the 49ers are not discriminating against blacks. It seemed that the league had no response to my email.

In the meantime, I sent an email to the league and received an immediate response from a “corporate spokesperson.” “The 49ers have not played this ad during their football games,” she said in her email.

I asked, “What about the San Francisco 49ers?”

“Yes,” she replied, “the 49ers have not played the racial diversity ad.”

I found this response curious. How could the people running the “Racial Justice League”

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