By Mike Freeman | Bleacher Report
Last week in Atlanta, something fairly significant happened—something that could begin to change so many things in the NFL.
Two former players—Donovin Darius, a former safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Patrick Kerney, a former defensive end who played most of his career in Atlanta—met with the entire Falcons football team. The team's players and coaches, buttressed by Darius and Kerney, spoke about a phrase that you will hear often in the coming months: culture of respect.
There were three main topics discussed—all topics that are, and will be, huge issues in football going forward. The first was about the NFL having its first openly gay player, the second was about hazing and the third had to do with there being no place in the locker room for the use of the N-word.
"We have an opportunity to be more deliberate in creating a culture of respect," said the NFL's chief human resources executive, Robert Gulliver, who was present at the meeting.
The union has programs where a six-person, full-time staff works with players on any number of issues. Yet this type of town-hall format, with ex-players speaking to practically an entire organization, is something the NFL hasn't really done before.
How Falcons players reacted isn't clear, but there was a similar meeting this week in Arizona, and a veteran player on that team said the message was "very good and very needed. The team responded well to it."
Hall of Famer Aeneas Williams, who mainly played for the Cardinals, specifically asked players not to use the N-word and also asked them not to play music featuring it. Williams' message was: If a word offends anyone, it shouldn't be used.
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