How Dare You
An overview of activism among professional athletes
By Emma Goshin, Culture Staff Writer
Protests are what move us beyond times of racial, gender and other inequalities. The U.S. is built on fighting the norm and changing what’s not right. Beginning as early as the Revolutionary War and extending through women’s suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement and the Gay Rights Movement, objection to the status quo forces those around us to make change. Often in sports, people focus only on the game or match and ignore what’s beyond that. The work that professional athletes put into their sport is praised, but when they take a stand against social justice issues, the backlash is almost ubiquitous.
Muhammad Ali, originally named Cassius Marcellus Clay, was a U.S. boxer who rose to fame by winning the Olympic light heavyweight division in 1960 (Britannica, 2021). He also won the professional heavyweight title ten times. In 1967, he refused induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, citing religious beliefs. Ali was then stripped of his championship and excluded from fighting in every U.S. state athletic commission for 3½ years. He was also criminally indicted and convicted of refusing induction into U.S. armed forces and sentenced to five years in prison.
Ali’s resistance to the draft contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1970, he was allowed to box again. He went down as one of the greatest American boxers of all time, being inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990 and receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. Ali’s fight against America’s war on Vietnam is a huge part of why he is famous today, and it opened doors for many athletes to stand up for the causes they believe in (Britannica, 2021).
San Francisco 49ers football player Colin Kaepernick has also become a model for protesting in professional sports. In 2016, he knelt during the national anthem at NFL games as a protest against social injustice (Branch, 2017). He aimed to make a statement about the excessive use of police force against people of color.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” (Branch, 2017).
Following Kaepernick’s actions, there were very mixed reactions from the public and political leaders. During his presidential candidacy, Donald J. Trump disapproved of the player’s actions: “Maybe he should find a country that works better for him,” (Branch, 2017). Others argued that he was disrespecting those who served in the U.S. military and died. However, many veterans even agreed with Kaepernick’s actions, saying that we cannot dictate how people choose to protest, and challenging the status quo by taking a knee does not disrespect the nation’s veterans (Walker, 2016).
Taking a knee was Kaepernick’s way of showing what the national anthem means to him. It is unfair for others to press how they believe people should act while the tune is played.
The point of protesting is to disrupt. It should make people feel uncomfortable, and Kaepernick was very successful in that way. Change was seemingly not happening in the league, and Kaepernick opted out of a renewed contract after the 2016 football season and has not played in the NFL since (Chakraborty, 2020). Although he received a ton of hate, Kaepernick will go down as the quarterback who knelt during the national anthem in front of millions of watching eyes to fight against social injustice in the U.S.
A more recent example of athletes fighting against injustice includes the female athletes of USA Gymnastics. Following the sexual abuse scandal of team doctor Larry Nassar, a discussion exploded about the mistreatment of female gymnasts.
In 2015, Nassar suddenly stepped down from USA Gymnastics and sexual assault allegations began to appear a year later. Approximately 300 people have accused Nassar of sexual abuse, including Olympians Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney (Kirby, 2018). Nassar abused his victims, including underage women, for many years. Further, USA Gymnastics actually knew about the abuse for several weeks before they reported it. Following the exposure of Nassar’s actions, female gymnasts came forward on social media and in news outlets to discuss their experiences and fight against the actions of Nassar and USA Gymnastics. Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman discussed the difficulties of bringing this case forward: “The agent just kept diminishing my abuse and telling me that he didn't feel like it was that big of a deal and maybe I should drop the case,” (Stump, 2021).
Following the years-long fight against Nassar, the abuser was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. He received up to 175 years two years later in Michigan state prison for criminal sexual conduct (Kirby, 2018).
Following the uproar, USA Gymnastics updated its policies. In their Athlete Bill of Rights, they gave competitors the right to be in an environment free from emotions, sexual or physical abuse (Morgan, 2020). Athletes are also now able to protest without jeopardizing their status as professional athletes under USA Gymnastics.
Fighting against the structure of the U.S. is not an easy feat. It’s important to keep in mind that the U.S. is built on protests, and change never happens without a fight. If millions of women did not fight for their right to vote or civil activists did not bring forth concerns about racial inequalities in the 1960s, the 19th Amendment and Civil rights Act of 1964 would not exist today (Legal highlight: The civil rights act of 1964, n.d.).
In the last few years, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has permitted its athletes to support social justice movements. Badger athletes wore uniforms with black crest logos to support the underrepresented communities during the 2020-2021 season, following the students’ expressed desire to wear this logo on their uniforms (Wisconsin Badgers, 2020).
Colin Kaepernick, Muhammad Ali and the female USA gymnasts pushed for solidarity and worked to make a change in their respected areas. Protest is supposed to make people uncomfortable because it provokes change, and it is vital to continue to support athletes who use their position and power to make a difference in the world.
Sources:
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right To Vote (1920). Our Documents. (n.d.).
Branch, J. (2017, September 7). The awakening of Colin Kaepernick. The New York Times.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021, July 24). Muhammad Ali summary. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Chakraborty, S. (2020, June 4). Was Colin Kaepernick fired from the 49ers? Why did NFL star cut ties with the team? Republic World.
Kirby, J. (2018, January 19). The sex abuse scandal surrounding USA Gymnastics Team doctor Larry Nassar, explained. Vox.
Legal highlight: The civil rights act of 1964. United States Department of Labor. (n.d.).
Morgan, L. (2020, December 13). USA Gymnastics to allow protests from athletes as New Bill of Rights introduced. The Sports Digest.
Stump, S. (2021, September 16). Aly Raisman recounts FBI agent 'diminishing' her abuse when she reported Nassar. NBCNews.com.
Walker, R. (2016, September 3). An open letter from American military veterans in support of Colin Kaepernick. The Undefeated.
Wisconsin Badgers. (2020, July 15). Sign of solidarity: Badgers to wear black crest logos. Wisconsin Badgers.