The Racial Tension in the NFL

In the 1950s, America was viewed as one the strongest nations in the World. America established itself as a strong military super power and dominate country in World War II. The effects of World War II carried over in the 1950s, America saw a lot of economic growth, there was an increase in the amount of people who moved to the suburbs, and the baby boom which came about because of the millions of soldiers returning home from military services. Even though this seemed like a happy time, there was still a thick tension in America. This tension was between African-Americans and white Americans. In 1865, the thirteenth amendment was passed which abolished slavery. Even though this occurred, white people still felt that African-American were

Today, modern sports fans do not consider the significance of the first black player, who broke the color barrier similar to Jackie Robinson. Fritz Pollard ended the many years of segregation in the NFL as he started a new trend of black players in the league. About 20 years later, the progress of African Americans in the NFL increases to 30% and now it is more than twice the amount. Modern day fans today, idolize African American players and their ability to make spudtacular plays on the field. Before 1946, kids would be foolish to imagine themselves as an African American player and now, kids of all races wish to play exactly like the African American superstars when they grow up. During an interview of Jim Brown, former professional running back, he talks about how he was made fun of on the field as player. He has memories of fans who would aggravate him by calling him names and telling him to dance like a fool. To embrace it, Jim responded to the people who told him his fame will increase if he would dance by simply saying “I don’t really dance”. This resulted in The influence and help from players such as Jim who evolve the sport into a more suitable environment for players to feel comfortable and more importantly accepted. Similar to the NFL, many examples of racism are found in the NBA, yet unlike the players who responded to the situations by holding back their emotions and opinions players

James Baldwin, in his newspaper article, If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell me, What is?, discusses the importance of language in the social world. He states that language “connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity.” The name Redskins is pushed into the conversation of the public, for it is the title of a popular sports team and discussed frequently. The NFL is a part of the public discourse, for it is a major professional sports league, and a significant element in America’s culture. It has a sway with the public, for we know this national sport as our nation's pastime sport: it captures our country’s attention. Removing the Redskins name from football would therefore contribute to its disappearance in the language world, for the NFL’s influence over the public is significant. It would stop promoting this demeaning language, and get it out of the public

The spectator of this sport has an obligation to the players of the sport, to make sure that the organization is protecting and looking out for them. Yet not only should the viewer be held accountable for the lack of communication in consequences between the player and the pro scene, but the organization of the NFL needs to make sure that their players have a full understanding of what is going on and how they need to protect the players. The current situation that is understood, contents contain implied knowledge that all parties of this table are in uniform knowledge and agreement to what comes of playing football. Finally, this should also happen at the youth level when kids are just getting into the sport, as it would better inform the parents and the kid if they understood the full

Ever since September of last year, the NFL National Anthem Protest has been one of the most controversial topics across social-media, alongside with other protests against police brutality. Many have criticized for such an action for being disrespectful to the National Anthem and Flag. Those, who have supported it, claim to protest against the nationwide police brutalities against the Black people. Looking back to the history of the United States, such sports protests are not a unique incident. During 1968 Olympic game, which are hold in Mexico City, African American Athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists to speak for black civil rights. Yet, back then both the U.S. government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not show support for such an action, though today the IOC claimed that the black American athletes has made names for themselves for doing such protests.

For many, speaking up for what you believe in can be difficult and risky, but ultimately worth the risk. Colin Kaepernick took this risk, by kneeling during the national anthem to stand up against “ police brutality and the inequality that people of color”(NFL). With many unjust shootings and police beatings of African Americans, Kaepernick’s teammate Eric Reid couldn’t stand the violence anymore after “the killing of Alton Sterling in my hometown Baton Rouge, La”(Reid). Reid joined Kaepernick in taking a knee during the national anthem, in doing this Kaepernick and Reid inspired other players to raise awareness and help those in need. This decision caused huge impacts on the nation, the NFL, and the youth who look up to the players of the NFL.

Most people understand that football is a violent sport, and one must be very tough in order to compete. Injuries NFL athletes suffer can affect, not only the player, but also the fans and family members watching. Over time, many have become increasingly disturbed by the violence that routinely occurs in

An increasingly popular topic in the realm of sports fans has begun to unravel. The National Football League recently has begun to introduce new rules and regulations for their athletes to start abiding by to ensure the continued safety of the player’s health. Although most find this change in the game of professional football as a positive step forward, others see this as a diminishment of the sanctity of NFL football. New rules and regulations that have been introduced into NFL are vital to athletes involved in the sport and help them to play with lowered risks of long term injuries that could possibly affect not only them but also the league in the future as well. The reasons for these

Racism is prevalent in today’s society and is exposed in the sports industry as well. Various athletes in different sports field experience racism and face it everyday. Social media is a big platform for people to criticize athletes for their failures and success. On the other hand more times than not, racism can be found within the head of organizations of major sports, most noticeably football. The NFL has condoned an abundance of racist actions towards players of Hispanic and African American descent; therefore, the NFL should stop these problems by supporting athletes that take a stand, holding the NFL owners accountable for their actions, and finally, not stereotyping young black athletes into a position based off of racial factors.

In the past four years, the National Football League “NFL” has made several changes to the NFL rulebook advocating safety by adding rules and implementing fines on players who fail to follow these policies. Rules such as the two-a-days ban, kickoff return rule change, helmet to helmet contact fines, requirement of NFL players to use the HITS System, and banning of players to return to playing football the same day they received their concussion were examples of measures taken by the NFL that promote safety. Although most of these players oppose the reformed rules, the NFL executives support these rulings feeling it reduces the amount of serious injuries. It is imperative for the NFL to retain its recently added safety rules, since it

My experience facing racial difficulties is when I was fifteen years old and i wanted to play football, because it seemed like fun and i enjoyed playing it with my friends when we went to the park.But my grandmother wouldn’t let me play because she thought that i wouldn’t excel in football because i wasn’t black, and that football is a black people's sport and that it wouldn’t matter how hard I worked I would never be as good as the black players. I don’t understand why the color of you're skin matters when wanting to play sports or do anything if you're good at it you should be given an equal opportunity to try-out and prove your talents. My situation was similar to cory’s because he wanted to play football and was getting recruited by scouts

Personal conduct in the NFL, National Football League, is an issue that is starting to spiral out of control. Late September, 2014, “the league [had] suspended at least 20 players for actions including assault, substance abuse and use of performance-enhancing drugs” (White); this was only a few weeks into the regular season of play for the league. The NFL has grown enormously since it was founded on August 20, 1920 in Canton, Ohio. But, this league has become more and more lenient with its players and personnel. Many professional athletes in the NFL receive special treatment regardless of their improper actions, thus allowing them to elude the consequences and in turn setting a misleading example for their young fans. In order

The National Football League has had more political issues in recent years than ever before. In the article ”Politics Has Always Had a Place in Football” by Samuel G. Freedman, a former columnist on religious issues for The Times, explains his article in terms of reasoning, evidence, and persuasive elements. He goes into why there is such an unusual insertion of politics and race discrimination in the NFL. Author Freedman uses examples of when African Americans were first allowed in the NFL as players, and then soon after, promoted to managers and owners. Other examples of civil rights being inserted into our current climate include Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem before games.

In Odessa, an oil-rich town in West Texas, there is a line that separates the two races of blacks and whites. They called it “the American version of the Berlin Wall – the railroad tracks that inevitably ran through the heart of town” (Bissinger 91). The tracks are the symbol of the barrier, tension, and attitude that stand between the two races. To the Odessan whites, African Americans are often considered extraneous, with few hopes and dreams to follow. It is also a common part of everyday language to blurt out the word “nigger,” without ever categorizing it in a racist context. To escape the predisposed perception, the football stadium, where the night lights shine, is the solitary premises where blacks accepted as an identity, as well

Since the introduction of organized team sports into American culture, numerous sports have stepped into the limelight for certain periods of time but none have stuck around as long as football has. Just as with everything else in life, football has had it’s fair share of drawbacks since its invention in the mid-19th century. Despite the drawbacks and criticism football has faced, its role and influence on American culture between the 1890’s and 1930’s far outweigh the negative aspects of its past.