The past election cycle was one of the more toxic cycles in recent memory. The vitriol coming from the Republican nominee, and current president, led to discourse in this country becoming increasingly divided as certain groups were emboldened to share their bigoted beliefs. While some who voted for the president felt he would mature once he won the election, that hasn’t been the case. It’s been the opposite. President Trump’s latest remarks focused on the NFL, CTE, and Colin Kaepernick.
In a campaign rally in Alabama, the president remarked that the research into concussions and its effect on football players was making the league soft and unwatchable. He also took the time to criticize former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick. Recall, Kaepernick would kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and the killings of young black men.
The president’s attack on Kaepernick, and players who joined him, went beyond the blackballing he’s endured by the NFL and its owners. In response to the protesters, Trump said, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b*tch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’”
Kaepernick’s mom, Teresa, had an immediate response. She tweeted, “Guess that makes me a proud b*tch!”
That the president said this about a citizen expressing his first amendment right is appalling, but unsurprising. He’s never gone off campaign mode and this false sense of patriotism is something that his base eats right up.
Players, past and present, such as Richard Sherman and Reggie Bush tweeted out their support of Colin Kaepernick and criticized the president’s remarks. Stephen Curry also drew the ire of the president when he said he would rather not accept an invitation to the White House because of his objections to the current administration. The president tweeted that going to the White House was an honor and a privilege and since Curry was hesitating, he was rescinding the invitation. This began another wave of support to Stephen Curry including Lebron James calling the president a “bum.”
Trump called upon the owners to fine or kick out any players who kneeled during the national anthem. Owners joined players in solidarity by locking hands during the anthem, other players kneeled, and others stood for the anthem because they felt that kneeling was a sign of disrespect for those who died for that flag.
Before going any further, it’s important to remember what Colin Kaepernick was protesting. He was not kneeling in protest of the current administration. Colin Kaepernick started his protest when Barack Obama was president. The protest is about police brutality and racism. Kaepernick was protesting the unjust killings of black men by police and the fact that they were constantly getting away with it. To associate the protest now to Trump does a disservice to Kaepernick and what he is fighting for.
It’s no coincidence that Trump focused on the NFL and the NBA. According to an article written in Sports Business News, African Americans comprised 74.3 percent of all players in the NBA while 81.7 percent of players were people of color. These numbers were published by The Institute for Diversity in Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida. In the annual racial and gender report card published by TIDES, they found that the NFL is almost 70 percent black.
Stephen Curry also caught on to the coincidence. In an article with the New York Times, he said, ““I don’t know why he feels the need to target certain individuals rather than others. I have an idea of why, but it’s kind of beneath the leader of a country to go that route. It’s not what leaders do. Fan response was also mixed. There were boos hurled at the players and comments made on social media regarding players needing to stay in their lane or that they should feel privileged to be playing professional sports.
We saw other forms of solidarity in other leagues like MLB. Oakland A’s rookie catcher, Bruce Maxwell, became the first MLB player to take a knee during the national anthem. Maxwell, the son of a U.S. Army veteran said, “I know I was on the fence for a long time because I know no one in baseball has ever done it. I finally got to the point where I thought the inequality of man is being discussed, and it’s being practiced from our president.” Maxwell taking a knee is significant because while baseball is dominated by Latino players, it’s still policed by those who want others to “play the game the right way” and get upset when players do things such as show emotion on the field or flip their bats after a home run.
MLB players would like to show their support but they don’t want to ruffle any feathers. Rays pitcher Chris Archer, is one of them. After the game on Sunday, he said, “From the feedback that I’ve gotten from my teammates, I don’t think it would be the best thing to do for me, at this time. I agree with the message. I believe in equality.”
The weekend taught us that the old adage of “stick to sports” or “don’t politicize sports” is something that we cannot do. Sports have always been political. Players have a right to stand up for what they believe in. The president of the United States should not call citizens exercising their first amendment rights “sons of b*tches” and calling for owners to fire them for doing so. Professional athletes have long been criticized for not being role models and being only in it for the money. Now that they are using their platform to spread a positive message, they receive hateful jeers from the public and politicians alike. They’re people too and the actions of the current administration affect them and their families.
Americans don’t like it when their country is criticized. It’s time to put the phrase that the United States is “the best country in the world.” It can be but it’s not. We should all take a knee alongside Colin Kaepernick.
Ernesto Hernandez
Sports Columnist