Unity Breeds Solution

Most recently in the world of sports, protest across the NFL have been expanding to multiple teams, even to other sports outside the NFL. Just a week ago the very first MLB player kneeled for the National Anthem signifying his support of the protests that originated in the NFL. Why have these protest suddenly been taken up by a more broader base of players?

Recently divisive comments from the leader of our country, as well as increased incidents of racial discrimination and police brutality, have inspired athletes from different backgrounds to make a stance. This movement originally stemmed from the protests of Colin Kaepernick, but it has really been revitalized most recently. Michael Bennett is a defensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks, and he recently was held at gunpoint in a Las Vegas night club. This along with president Trump’s comments at an Alabama rally really resonated with athletes across the nation. Trump essentially said that any NFL player who demonstrated their right to free speech was a “Son of a B**** that should be fired”. Trump’s failure to recognize that these players are humans just like of the rest of the citizens that elected him, dehumanizes the players.

Uniformity sprouted up across the NFL, and many of the NFL owners, who had been criticized for not backing players enough on their stance, spoke out against the divisive comments the President made. This doesn’t mean they support the player’s protest but for many it was a step in the right direction, toward a symbol of racial unity in the NFL. Many NFL owners even showed up on the field before the games to lock arms with players in a showing of unity. Among these showings was the Dallas Cowboys, where perhaps the most influential NFL owner, Jerry Jones, locked arms with players on the field for an apparent symbol of harmony. However, his most recent comments have people reverting back to debate and division. He has said he will sit any player who decides to kneel for the national anthem again, essentially refusing his players the right to free expression. Just as the NFL was looking to become a symbol of unity with protests showing a unified desire to improve social and racial disparity in the US, an owner makes a statement like this.

Now the Cowboys have been deemed “America’s Team” since the team’s creation, and for America’s team to stand for something like this is troubling message that we are sending nationally and internationally.

However, other teams have been making strides to fix the issues at hand. 4 NFL teams, Seahawks namely one of them, have held team meetings to discuss what social movements are important to players. Subsequently, the Seahawks have donated 1 million dollars to different organization promoting racial and social justice. This is the type of action peaceful protest can promote, if we continue to unite instead of divide with our speech and our action, we can get a lot accomplished.

Photo courtesy of ESPN