EA Sports Delays 'Madden NFL 21' First Look to 'Stand' With African-American Community

With all that's going on across the country between protests to go along with the coronavirus [...]

By Kyle Phillippi

With all that's going on across the country between protests to go along with the coronavirus outbreak, EA Sports has opted to postpone the scheduled Madden NFL 21 first look preview. The video game giant was going to give its users a preview of the new features, screenshots and other information about the newest installment in the franchise.

In the statement put out by EA Sports, the company said that "we stand with our African American/Black community of friends, players, colleagues and partners." The statement went on to read that it's focusing their attention on taking actions to make a change against the "unjust treatment and systematic bias" that is going on across the nation. "We'll find another time to talk football with you," the note reads towards the end. EA Sports rounded out its statement by urging everyone to stand together and "commit to change."

The event, which was announced in April, was not given a makeup date. The cover athlete is also expected to be named at the event, although it's widely expected that Baltimore Ravens quarterback the reigning MVP, Lamar Jackson, will be gracing the front of the game after revealing that he would be doing so on April 21 while speaking with reporters. In the interview, the Louisville product said it always was a dream of his to receive this honor, even admitting he has owned every installment of the game since he started playing. As for the curse that has plagued many of the cover athletes, Jackson is ready to push it off for another year just as Patrick Mahomes did this year en route to a Super Bowl victory.

While no date has been announced, there's a chance the reveal will come at EA Play 2020, which will give users a first look at many of its other titles like FIFA 21 and NHL 21. That event is on June 11 and appears to be going on as scheduled even though other video game events, like E3, announced their postponement due to COVID-19.

As for others in the industry speaking out over all that is transpiring across the country in the wake of the George Floyd death, Xbox marketing executive, Aaron Greenberg, put out a tweet with a Black Lives Matter petition attached, calling for his followers to "join me and speak up." He also wrote, "Sending love and strength to all my family members in the gaming community right now."

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