Texans' Kenny Stills: Roger Goodell, NFL could've saved lives by listening to Colin Kaepernick sooner

Roger Goodell and the NFL have acknowledged their wrongdoing in recent weeks for not listening to former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's message sooner. 

Although the NFL commissioner now supports kneeling during the national anthem, Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills says Goodell could've made a large impact in the fight against social and racial injustice by just listening to Kaepernick sooner. 

"He can say whatever he wants to say now, but in a sense, if we would have taken a more stern stance and he would have listened to us in the beginning of this, there would have been so many lives that could have been saved," Stills said, according to ESPN's Sarah Barshop. "There's a lot of progress that we could have made within our law enforcement, within our police, so it's a nice gesture, I guess, to say he wishes he would have done something different, but look at the NFL."

In June, Goodell released a video apologizing on behalf of the league for not addressing player concerns about racial inequality earlier. During an interview this week on former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho's video series "Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man," Goodell acknowledged that statement and stood by it. 

While Stills, who is very outspoken, is still on an NFL roster, Kaepernick's fate for taking a stand against racial injustice saw him ousted from the league.

Kaepernick hasn't been on an NFL roster since the conclusion of the 2016 campaign, but Goodell has encouraged teams to sign the 32-year-old in recent months.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is said to be "more motivated to play than ever" in the NFL after Goodell condemned racism and finally promoted peaceful protesting of racial injustice.

Kaepernick did attempt a comeback earlier this year with a workout in Atlanta, but it resulted in no offers being made to the quarterback. His desire to return to the NFL spurs from the racial injustice protests following the death of George Floyd, and Kaepernick likely wants to be a leader in change around the league.