In the second article on Hispanic Heritage Month 2023, we will discuss how poorly the NFL celebrated the month in 2022.

Most of us had limited expectations for the NFL and their observation of Hispanic Heritage Month, but we did expect them to be able to avoid being offensive. After all, the first Hispanic Heritage Month was in 1988 (the first Hispanic Heritage Week was in 1968). The NFL has had over 30 years to get it right.

Ever wonder why Hispanic Heritage Month splits two months down the middle, running from September 15th to October 15th? Many countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) have their independence anniversary on September 15th.

The Mexican and Chilean independence days are within a few days of September 15th. Also, Día de la Raza also falls within this time period.

Hispanic Heritage Month

A beautiful celebration of Costa Rica’s Independence Day on September 15th – Costa Rica First Class Villas

The NFL is not just snubbing their Hispanic viewers; they are also disrespecting many countries, cultures, and groups of people. It is that serious.

How Did The NFL Mess Up?

Who knew that a single symbol over a letter could be perceived so poorly? Well, most people, actually. This is so clearly flawed that anyone who took an introductory Spanish language class would be able to throw a flag on the play.

Somehow, the NFL was unable to avoid what is clearly a terrible media strategy. This feels like Barbie in the movie when she sees all the men running Mattel and calling all the shots. This is a great way for the league to demonstrate that they have a significant lack of representation in their marketing and communication teams. Or they have not empowered a diverse array of people to be able to communicate their concerns effectively.

What symbol is being referred to here? Offensively bright yellow tilde over the N in the NFL logo. Their description that the NFL attached to the “shield” was poorly written as well. Unmistakable Latin flavor? Somehow, the enthusiastic nature of the description of their problematic behavior makes the situation far worse.

Why Is This So Problematic?

In Spanish, the N is written and pronounced differently from the N with a tilde, which is the letter eñe (en-yay phonetically).

Implying that individuals are pronouncing or reading NFL as en-yay, F, or L is impolite at best. Had the NFL run this by just about anyone before making it a campaign, they would have seen that this was not a fun play on words and would not have been received well.

This is particularly important when considering that Hispanics are significantly underrepresented in the NFL and that their contributions to the league have not been properly acknowledged during Hispanic Heritage Month or any other month.

Hispanics feeling unheard by the NFL is not a new problem, and the disrespect delivered from the NFL during the month that is supposed to honor them the most feels like making a joke of Hispanic Heritage Month.

How Can the NFL Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 2023 Correctly?

Apologize for last year. Not issuing an apology for their 2022 mistake is a bad look on top of a bad decision.

Ignoring people offended by their mistakes is the ultimate way to communicate that they do not care what affected people think. It screams the idea that this is corporate fakeness and not an actual honoring of Hispanic culture.

The tilde over the N in the shield was the most public display of the overall “Por La Cultura” campaign that had the message:

“The league is proud to celebrate Latino Heritage Month by highlighting NFL players, coaches, & staff while partnering with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and the Hispanic Alliance for career enhancement. We look forward to continuing collaborations with Latino creators, artists, & writers.”  

Referring to the month as Latino Heritage Month is not ideal either. Many Hispanics do not hail from Latin America, and so the NFL also seemingly erased any Hispanics that existed outside of their perception of who this month is meant to commemorate.
Many NFL players who have been honored and continue to be honored are Hispanic, but not Latino (like some of the fantastic players in article one of Hispanic Heritage Month 2023).
The NFL can do better by demonstrating a modicum of cultural sensitivity and competency. They can also try humbling themselves before their audience when they mess up instead of ignoring them. We can and should expect better from the league.