The issues have been going on for far longer that when slavery started. Inequality has been going on for centuries, far back into the middle ages, far far back in A.D./B.C. times. While its no excuse, there will always be inequality, it will never be completely stopped. I don't need the NFL to hear about these issues, we've been hearing about these issues far before players in the NFL even started protesting, and I can guarantee you that the majority of the USA has heard about these issues without needing to watch NFL games. Look at our news feed for the past year. Its been littered with stories on these issues. I'm sorry, but I respectfully disagree that we need NFL players to protest to bring these issues to the forefront. We've had protests in the news regularly, your telling me that's not enough? I don't agree with police brutality, what I also don't agree with is the "pig" stance a lot of these players and people seem to have adopted where they think all cops are racist and horrible people. There are good and bad cops, just like there are good and bad people in every race. To me its disrespectful and disgusting. I know sometimes its hard to have respect for law enforcement due to all the bad cops out there, but there are many cops that have done amazing things, that people still talk negatively about. As for checking outlets, I'm subscribed to news stations on twitter, so I consistently see news on these issues.