The Role Of Sports In Politics In Sport

In the article, “Taking a Knee has Always Been a Sign of Reverence, Not Disrespect,” Luke Bretherton discusses the event of the black football players kneeling during the national anthem at a game. Bretherton argues that the kneeling is not a sign of disrespect, but yet a symbol of great respect and veneration. He claims that the posture of kneeling has always has been proven to display “a gesture of great love and devotion,” a request for a deeper level of a relationship, and to raise awareness of an emergency (Bretherton 2). Bretherton then combines all of these symbols and presents his argument, stating that the athletes were kneeling in protest for several reasons: the players were encouraging the people of America to join them in a

Politics is a word that seems to be entwined in every aspect of our youth lives. In schools, most notably, high school sports, politics is a better part of it. Pick basketball, for instance, politics in youth basketball often comes with negative connotations. So what do youth sports politics entail? Plenty is the answer.

Not only has Police Brutality exposed hidden racism, but it has begun to cause separation in our nation. All of these Police Brutality cases such as Alton Sterling, Mike Brown, and Trayvon Martin just to name a few, all have happened within the last 3 years, and they were all documented on camera, exposing the reality to millions around the world. The conflict didn’t stop at the shootings though, many big-name Athletes stood up for the altercations and asked for attention. I am going to go over each individual shooting, the athletes that stood up for them, and political leaders that spoke on it.

In August of 2016, Kaepernick began his protest during a NFL preseason game where he initially sat during the singing of the national anthem. At the time, his rebellious efforts became unnoticed, but he soon enough made headlines when someone took a photo of him sitting during the anthem. Thus a social issue was born from the public’s reaction from the photo.The negativity of the public’s reaction stemmed from the norm that it is customary that people raise their right hand over their heart while facing the flag when the Star-Spangled-Banner is playing, so if one does not follow this norm it is identified showing disrespect. Inevitably, the prediction of the people’s reaction were to be expected as they were outraged when Kaepernick broke the norm. Although, it is legal for individuals not to follow these sacrosanct protocols, citizens of the United States find this norm obligatory.Would you stand by and constantly watch the same social issues to keep reoccurring in your neighborhood? Not only that but it keeps happening to different people by the same organization? When numerous acts of police brutality occurred, Colin Kaepernick decided to protest. He could no longer stand by and do nothing; he decided to take a knee. For professional National Football League (NFL) player, Colin Kaepernick, his response was “no”. One of the last waves that came toward the end of the summer is the kneeling while the national anthem played during sporting events. When Kaepernick decided to

A big controversial topic going around in the news over the past few weeks has been Colin Kaepernick and his stand to end the hardship for people of color and police brutality in the United States. This silent stand started early this preseason when a number of different events involving people of color and police officers around the United States not getting along. However, this has started to become more publicized as more and more people in the National Football League have been joining in with Colin Kaepernick and taking a knee or sitting during the national anthem. This stand has become way more than a simple silent stand as many people around the nation are starting to voice their opinions on this subject. Even though everyone argues their thoughts on this subject.

A present day crucible in today’s world that has been occurring more and more is kneeling to the national anthem and how people that kneel don’t like our country, are only focused on helping one group/race of people, and people are being kicked off teams because of them making protests.The Anthem protests started last year in August when Colin Kaepernick sat on the bench at an NFL game during the National Anthem. After the game reporters asked him why he sat and he said, “I am not going to stand up and show pride in a flag for a country that opposes black people and people of color” (Wyche ). Since this first incident it’s spread across all of the NFL, high school sports, NHL, women's professional soccer, and even in the MLB. This protest has even been caught in the eyes of the president and there is no sign of this protest slowing down.

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.

Racial inequality will always be a huge topic in the United States of America, and continues today to still be a huge topic. With the NFL players raising awareness by kneeling and locking arms together during the national anthem, the topic of racial inequality has gained more interest. After Kaepernick in 2016 first kneeled many other athletes and stars joined the movement to talk about the problems of racial inequality. People like Ellen DeGeneres, Zendaya, George Lopez, and many others voice their support for the players (JustJared). This new NFL season has caused more controversy with a new president that is invoking many people, Trump took a shot at the players protesting stating “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners,

ANNA, W; ROGER, G; MALCOLM, J. The league`s commissioner says he wants players to stand during the

Without a doubt, we look at athletes today and from the past as if they are larger than life individuals. They show their personality through talent no matter what they play; some are better than others, for example some can kick or throw. However, at the end of the day they all have a different voice and a different story. People expect them to turn a blind eye to everyday events because of their status. People think of athletes as celebrities, they say they do not go through the same struggles as everyday people. That statement is far from the truth when it pertains to the issue of racism. Racism has been an unresolved problem for years whether it is in sports or athletes speaking for what they believe. Racism has had a big impact on sports such as Germany hosting the olympics and cheating, N.B.A. owners thinking they rule over their players, and the hidden discrimination that happens in locker rooms. Many times athletes have stood up for what they believed just to be shot down. Nowhere in their contracts does it state that because they are professionals that they must compromise their freedom of speech. Whether it be refusing to meet with the president, speaking out on racial injustices, or not standing for the national anthem, athletes have a strong voice in the fight against discrimination and other traumatic events. The fight for equality in sports and throughout America is a process that includes multiple organizations, the reaction of authority figures, and

Sports, particularly football, has became a political debate in September. The author of the article, CNN Sophie Tatum, called “Athletes, activists spar on kneeling National Anthem protests”. She explained that President Donald Trump began to criticize players on his twitter account who would kneel during the national anthem to protest against police brutality. Sophie Tatum writes that Trump and his aides are arguing that the protests are unpatriotic and disrespectful to the flag. Trump also adds that it is disrespectful to the people who fought to protect our country. Although players argue that they are just exercising free speech. In the beginning of the article Sophie Tatum adds an interview, Spike Lee, who is speaking out for the players who take a knee. He defends the players that they are simply protesting against law enforcement and want to be heard on the issues at hand. Reading the title of the article before I read the rest and

In this week’s article “The Anthem”, The author, Joe Ponanski, goes deeply into the background of the national anthem to show the importance of the Star Spangled Banner as it unites us as a country. The actions of athletes as they play the anthem have meaning. Inappropriate actions during the anthem can convey a kind of disrespectful demeanor toward the country and our troops, whether this is the intent of the athletes action or not. Colin Kaepernick was making a personal proclamation. He was drawing attention to a very serious predicament, racial discrimination in the US. After the game he explained “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,". Those who don’t agree with

In the Atlantic article “They Took A Knee,” author Megan Garber describes the recent outbreak in NFL players and coaches, who have participated in the protest against social oppression, by kneeling during the national anthem. The article describes how there an been an extensive increase in the protests of NFL athletes “after President Trump’s harsh condemnations towards them, for kneeling during the national anthem”. As stated in the article, NFL protests began in 2016, when NFL player Colin Kaepernick “knelt during the pre-game singing of the national anthem...to protest racial oppression against African Americans.” This action has now been replicated by NFL athletes all over the country standing up for equality

The negative media frenzy initially began when San Francisco 49ers Quarterback, Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem. This apparent act of National defiance was actually directed at drawing attention to the rise in police brutality and racial inequality. However, news broadcasters and social media targeted Kaepernick for the fact that he was kneeling during the anthem. This in turn, generated a social backlash, with all of the attention fixated on labeling Kaepernick as “unpatriotic”. This perception has continued as other NFL players joined the cause. Although, the underlying reason is still police brutality and racial inequality the media’s attention is still focused on the appearance of the NFL players as unpatriotic. Recently, President Trump tweeted about it, causing the propaganda to reach a new level of low. Referring to the players who refused to stand for the “Star Spangled Banner” President trump called them a “son of a bitch” (“Cowboy-up” 5). The whole incident from the beginning until now has produced a mixed response with fans and Americans’ alike. With the majority of the emphasis being placed on the effect of the player’s actions vs the cause leading to the initial protest, it has widened the already present and toxic divide in America.

Professional athletes making political statements and sharing thoughts on their viewed social issues has been around since games were first being broadcasted and gave these athletes a stage to make a stand. Along with those actions entered debate for sports fans who are stuck between whether athletes should or should not share their views on things “bigger than sports”.This has been missing from professional sports in recent decades but is now slowly once again becoming relevant. The presidency of Donald Trump along with Colin Kaepernick’s taking a knee to protest the national anthem are the two main reasons for the