It’s easy to forget that athletes have their own political views while they’re out on the field, but they’re like anyone else.
Many athletes who come forward and express their political views usually face backlash from the press, fans, teammates and leagues, and that’s not fair.
Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, hasn’t signed with an NFL team since 2016. He knelt during the U.S. national anthem that year to bring attention to police brutality against people of color and highlight racial injustice, according to an Aug. 2020 article by Distractify, a media outlet that covers what is trending on social media.
The NFL faced heavy criticism by 49ers fans who supported his protesting after owners blackballed Kaepernick. However, those who opposed Kaepernick’s actions burned his memorabilia because they considered his actions un-American, according to an Aug. 28, 2016 article by ABC News.
But as an American citizen, Kaepernick has the right to protest against police brutality and racial injustice because not only is it his First Amendment right, but it’s a horrible reality of what people of color face every day in the U.S.
Being an athlete shouldn’t hold them back from expressing their views on a system that affects them just as much as any other American citizen.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way,” Kaepernick said in a NFL media interview on Aug. 27, 2016. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
In 2018, Global Sports Matters did a breakdown of people of color in American sports teams. They found that 42.5% of MLB players, 80.7% of NBA players and 90.7% of NFL players are people of color.
It’s unethical for fans to expect and demand athletes to turn a blind eye to the issues in America and
focus solely on playing their sport.
President Donald Trump criticized other NFL players who knelt during the national anthem before their games at a rally in Huntsville, Alabama on Sept. 22, 2017.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He’s fired! He’s fired!,’ ” Trump said to his supporters according to a Sept. 22, 2017 ESPN article.
However, athletes from different sports continue to stand together in their right to protest, as they should.
More recently, athletes have been coming together in full force by using their platforms to protest against racism and injustice in America. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other innocent Black Americans across the country by police officers have only amplified their efforts.
And when athletes in America speak, people listen. Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James have all used their platforms to support social justice in America, according to a June 10 article by Insider.
NBA players protested the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police officers by issuing statements as a team condemning the killings and kneeling together with teammates, coaches, staff and opposing teams, according to the same Insider article.
During Borussia Dortmund’s game against Paderborn on May 31, Borussia Dortmund’s player Jadon Sancho revealed a Justice for George Floyd message written on his undershirt after scoring a goal.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich called on white Americans to fight racism by saying that African Americans have been “shouldering this burden” for centuries during a game on June 6, according to a June 10 article by Insider.
Politics, social injustice, police brutality, racism and everything that happens in America affects professional athletes just as much as it affects all other Americans.
Professional athletes should be able to voice their political opinions without the fear of losing their jobs or fans.
