NFL Network producers get players involved to tell the stories of Black victims of hate crimes, injustice

It was a picture worth a thousand memories to Chelsea Stark-Jones.

The NFL Network producer paused and pondered while working in December on a particular installment of the “Say Their Stories” series, which involved delicately conveying the significance of Sharonda Coleman-Singleton — one of nine lives lost in a June 2015 mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Stark-Jones was touched as she looked through images Coleman-Singleton's family had submitted for the four-minute video.

"There’s a photo of her, sitting at a restaurant,” Stark-Jones recalled during an interview with Paste BN Sports. Coleman-Singleton, who was 45 when she was killed during a Bible study session, was captured in the picture wearing a striped dress, a broad smile complementing her short-cropped hair. “It reminded me of my mother.

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"When I was younger, she had a haircut like that. She looked like her. I just remember seeing that photo and I connected to her. I think that’s why, as Black people, we feel hurt by all of this, because we see ourselves and we see our loved ones in these victims.”

Coleman-Singleton’s story, narrated by Texans receiver Randall Cobb, was among the 20 documentary-styled PSAs the league-owned media operation produced and distributed on its network and website, and during nationally televised games, under the umbrella of its “Inspire Change” initiative.

The purpose was to unapologetically humanize the overwhelmingly Black victims of racial violence, police brutality, social injustice or a combination of any and all such factors, while hopefully enlightening and changing attitudes.

Several NFL players, including Saints running back Alvin Kamara, Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu and Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, served as narrators on the project. They told the stories of people that include some who became household names because of, sadly, the heinous circumstances attached to their deaths: George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Philando Castile. Alton Sterling. Ahmaud Arbery. Emmett Till. 

“Oftentimes when I watch the news and hear about these senseless murders and acts of violence, we hear somewhat of a skewed perception of who they were, or giving some type of excuse as to why what happened to them happened — they resisted or didn’t take directions or whatever, and a negative perception of these humans is painted,” said Stark-Jones, who has worked for the NFL since 2011. 

“With this series, I personally really wanted to make sure that we were able to tell the stories of who they were — they were parents, children, ER nurses — and to let people understand that they are human beings and not just another statistic.” 

Saints RB played major role

As the first anniversary of Floyd’s death approaches — former police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck on a Minneapolis street, was found guilty of murder last month — let’s not overlook the perspective of storytellers like Stark-Jones.

As a Black woman, she said she felt more a sense of duty than burden in working on a project so different from the typical assignments. The stories forced her into an emotionally charged space. It was personal. It allowed a deeper sense of purpose, awareness and growth.

“They’re very tough,” she said. “I think I was definitely hyper-sensitive to a lot of things all season because of the subject matter I was intimately working with. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’ve been so proud to work on these stories." 

Stark-Jones wrote and produced about half of the PSAs, tapped by senior producer Anthony Smith to essentially split the heavy lifting with fellow producer Quincy Young. The completed package, which ran during the course of the 2020 season and for several weeks in 2021, was one of the most ambitious and undoubtedly the most socially woke series ever produced by the media arm that often makes its mark with cinematic elegance in documenting the game or other significant moments in NFL history. Included in the widespread acclaim, the series was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and a Webby Award.

It’s what Kamara had in mind when he urged the league to do more to commemorate the lives lost than merely allowing players to wear decals featuring the names of victims. “He didn’t want empty symbols,” Smith said of Kamara.

That inspired Smith — whose parents used to quiz him with Black History flash cards during his formative years — to brainstorm with others and formulate the structure of the pieces. He settled on simple backgrounds to support the intimate narrations, with each piece ending with the identical “say their name” closing remark.

When Smith went back to Kamara, the running back got on board and recruited other players to participate. Kamara narrated the first video, paying homage to Arbery, who was killed in February 2020 while jogging in southern Georgia.

“He really set the tone for everything that came after that,” Smith told Paste BN Sports. “I think having him and Tyrann — players of that caliber — as our first two (narrators) helped us book the additional players for the rest of the series.”

Players 'care so much'

Like any producer, Stark-Jones fretted about the nuts-and-bolts challenges, which included a tight timeline and the perils of operating during a pandemic. She wondered whether the narrations, conducted over Zoom  from her Los Angeles home, would be intimate enough for stories with such enormous gravity. Those fears where quickly alleviated.

“I was nervous,” she recalled. “ ‘How am I going to get this personal connection with players when we’re talking about something so serious?’ I wanted to be in the room (with them) for this. After doing a few of these, I was like, 'These players are just so passionate about it and care so much.’

"It was heart-warming to know how invested they were ... and how much they knew about (the victims) without having to prompt them. They didn’t just put a name on the helmet because they thought it was the trendy thing to do, because someone told them to. They did it because it meant something to them.”

Emotionally attached

Stark-Jones couldn’t help but become emotionally attached to the victims whose stories she told. That explains what she described as her “biggest breakdown,” which occurred in real time as she was in the final editing phase for the PSA about Taylor, the 26-year-old EMT who was shot and killed in March 2020 by police who raided her apartment in Louisville in the middle of the night.

Coincidentally, the story on Taylor was scheduled to air the week that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced he would not press charges against the officers responsible for her death (a state grand jury merely indicted one of the officers with three counts of “wanton endangerment” for endangering Taylor’s neighbors with the shots). It sparked protests and illustrated yet another case of police not being held accountable for the death of a Black person.

“Hearing that there wasn’t going to be any justice served to her was so heart-breaking,” Stark-Jones reflected. 

The PSA included a comment from the narrator, Cardinals tackle Kelvin Beachum, stating that no one was charged for Taylor’s death.

NFL can demonstrate social leadership

What's next? Officially, the “Say Their Stories” campaign has been completed, with the powers-that-be still determining what form or fashion they will continue with social justice stories as part of their Inspire Change initiative.

Stark-Jones, though, would be the first to maintain the work isn’t over when it comes to illuminating the plight of people victimized by social injustice and systemic racism. Nor should it be.

“I hope people didn’t see what happened over the summer (of 2020) as just a moment, as something temporary,” she said. “It’s important that we share these types of stories and understand people’s pain and why we’re hurting as a Black community and not just see it as a trend." 

The NFL can demonstrate social leadership for corporate America at large by investing resources for projects such as “Say Their Stories,” which speak to the concerns of many of its players and undoubtedly a significant portion of the fan base. Sure, people can consume the games and the NFL can hawk its content and merchandise while growing revenues, but a greater purpose exists.

Go ahead. Honor the legacies. Say their names and tell their stories.

Follow Paste BN Sports' Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.