The NFL is observing Juneteenth as a league holiday, closing its offices as its clubs do the same.

"This year, as we work together as a family and in our communities to combat the racial injustices that remain deeply rooted into the fabric of our society, the NFL will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19th as a recognized holiday and our league offices will be closed," commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a league-wide memo last Friday. "It is a day to reflect on our past, but more importantly, consider how each one of us can continue to show up and band together to work toward a better future."

Meanwhile, Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley took to social media to say that he is "Happy to celebrate my birthday on a real holiday!"

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Happy to celebrate my birthday on a real holiday! I never knew what this day really meant until one of my African American coaches told me last year! Let's educate ourselves about our strong history and resiliency! We are great, we are strong, we are blessed! #gemini #geminiseason #juneteenth

A post shared by CJ Mosley (@mosley32rtr) on Jun 19, 2020 at 5:27am PDT

"I never knew what this day really meant until one of my African American coaches told me last year!" Mosley wrote in his Instagram post. "Let's educate ourselves about our strong history and resiliency! We are great, we are strong, we are blessed!"

Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, and announced that slavery had ended and that the Civil War was over. Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had occurred two years prior in 1863, though Texas had not yet abolished slavery.

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