I’ve had the misfortune of watching two of my favorite teams—each an apparent juggernaut in their sport—suffer unexpected losses this season. In the moments after these losses, I felt the urge to overreact, but as time went on, I felt something I hadn’t expected: relief.

Football, by the nature of its reluctance to change, has become a snapshot of a larger cultural problem related to the stereotypes of black people.

The NFL national anthem protests have now reached the tuft fields of America’s college football teams.

In America, I see a deeply flawed nation that has destroyed so much in the name of greed but which constantly evolves in order to fix the inequalities at its core.

Former University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam, the first openly LGBTQIA* athlete to be drafted in the NFL, spoke to students about his journey in College Hall Thursday.

In response to the decline in NFL television ratings, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has organized press conference to answer report questions.

Julio Jones is fueling an Atlanta Falcons offense that has bullied its way to the Super Bowl, pounding opposing defenses to the tune of 39 points per game during its current six-game winning streak.

As football fans across America can attest, the tone of the 2016 season has changed the precedent for social commentary in relation to the sport.

Goodell’s eroding grasp on the league continued to wither away with the Adrian Peterson scandal, the continued emergence of player arrests for domestic violence, the peculiar and inconsistent handling of Josh Gordon’s drug violations, and the still-unresolved Deflategate controversy.

Let’s start here with the Ray Rice case: do not blame Janay Rice under any circumstances. If you are blaming Janay Rice under any circumstances, then stop. Immediately. Domestic violence is a remarkably complex issue, and Janay choosing to marry Ray does not negate her victimhood.