Athlete activism in the United States

49ers players following in Colin Kaepernick's footsteps in protest for Black Lives Matter

Colin Kaepernick was the first major activist of the Black Lives Matter movement in the NFL. During the 2016 postseason, in response to several incidents of police brutality, Kaepernick protested during the national anthem. Initially, Kaepernick sat on the bench during the national anthem, but after conferring with other players, he moved to kneeling. Commissioner Roger Goodell was somewhat critical in his response, saying he didn't "necessarily agree" with Kaepernick's actions. On the 2016 season's opening day, many players followed his lead, with some kneeling and some raising a fist. These actions garnered criticism from several public figures, including then-President Donald Trump. These protests continued into the 2017 and 2018 seasons, generating controversy. When he went unsigned in free agency, Kaepernick hired attorney Mark Geragos and filed suit claiming that NFL owners had conspired against him in violation of their collective bargaining agreement. [1]

Initially, the NFL ruled that players could not protest during the national anthem but could remain in the locker room. In 2018, the league announced it would not punish players for protests during the national anthem. After the Murder of George Floyd, similar protests began to reemerge.[1]

During the 1968 Olympics, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, raised their fists in a salute to Black Power on the podium.[2] The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the advancements in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, and the Tlatelolco massacre were cited as influencing the pair to make this decision. Wearing black t-shirts to cover the USA on their uniforms and raising a black glove in the air as "The Star-Spangled Banner" played, the reaction was largely negative and near-instant. They were banned from the US team and the Olympic village and largely ostracized upon returning home.[3] In 2008, President Barack Obama acknowledged the men's protest and asked them to become U.S. Olympic Committee ambassadors in 2016.[4]

Protests like these made a resurgence in the 2022 Beijing winter games. Many athletes were unhappy with the International Olympic Committee's decision to place the winter games in China, with the country's history of human rights violations and censorship.[5][6] As such, protests have become much more subtle, as the IOC has learned from experience. From athletes skipping the opening ceremony to some athletes turning away from the flag during the national anthem, the IOC's controversial Rule 50 preventing all forms of peaceful protest on the podium has made it even riskier to make a political statement, as it has led to termination and massive controversies for the Olympians who participate.

The MLB is a primary example of professional athletes using their platform to advocate for social and political issues. The leading player credited with jumpstarting activism within Major League Baseball is Jackie Robinson. Robinson became the first player to break the color barrier in the MLB on April 15, 1947.[7] Once established in the MLB, Robinson found many friends in high positions that he would communicate his feelings about specific civil rights issues such as lynching or the passing of particular legislation.[8] Although he became frustrated with democracy and the lack of influence the Civil Rights Movement had made so far, he continued to fight for justice until throughout his life. The courage and leadership shown by Robinson seeped through the MLB into other sports as more and more African American athletes began to fight against social injustice. Robinson is an excellent example of athlete activism and was a primary catalyst for changing the course of direction for Major League Baseball.

Another example of athlete activism within the MLB is Roberto Clemente. Clemente was the first Latino Hall of Famer in baseball who received: 12 Golden Glove awards, over 3,000 hits, 15 all-star appearances, 2 World Series titles, and the 1966 MVP.[9] After leaving his home country of Puerto Rico to go play in the MLB in 1955, Clemente immediately noticed the segregation and racism within America as Jim Crow was in full effect. Clemente would begin a fight against oppression, including boycotting bus trips with teammates to “all white” diners during road trips or forcing Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager to buy station wagons for non-white players to travel in during away games. You see former Major leaguer Carlos Delgado follow in his idol’s footsteps by continuing to fight for activism in both minorities and other issues of social justice just as Clemente did.[10] Clemente created a new form of activism to fight social injustices within the MLB, which has helped shape the league into what it is today.

LeBron James has faced racism during his NBA career. Since Kaepernick "took the knee", James has followed in his footsteps, but in his way and in his sport. Despite being told to "shut up and dribble", James has continued to be an activist against racism by taking action on social media and during the pregame of NBA games. His platform allows more people to follow or hear about his activism. At the 2016 ESPYs, James and a few fellow NBA players used the occasion to express their support of the Black Lives Matter Movement.[11] James has used his platform more every year as his popularity has increased.

In addition to other sports leagues in the United States, the National Hockey League (NHL) has taken part in activist movements regarding anti-racism and LGBTQ+ inclusion.[12] As the National Hockey League has tried to promote these movements, issues have occurred amongst players and teams causing complications to the activities that the league is attempting to implement.

Beginning in 2020, the NHL and NHLPA (National Hockey League Players Association) announced they would be partnering with the Hockey Diversity Alliance (HDA) to administer training and education on anti-racism within the league that the players and NHLPA staff would partake in. The HDA work towards their goal to "... eradicate systematic racism and intolerance in hockey,"[13] by having their partners and associations that partner with them to sign their pledge stating their commitment to:

• Create policy and rule changes that make the culture of the game more inclusive
• Establish specific targets for hiring, promoting, and partnering with Black individuals and businesses
• Execute educational programming to increase awareness of racism in hockey
• Fund impactful social justice initiatives

As the NHL has begun to work on its activist movements and make them more accepted league-wide, there has also been a great backlash that these movements have faced. Starting in 2013, the NHL became an official partner of the You Can Play project, which was designed to fight homophobia within sports, including events like pride nights with jerseys made by pride members and stadium performances. Nights and uniforms like these across multiple sports have begun to receive backlash from the players on the teams participating due to various religious and political beliefs.[14] This caused the league management to reconsider the effectiveness of these events as well as their possible discontinuation due to the political pressure of multiple political facets that have caused negative responses to events meant to promote outreach and support for the pride communities. Many players from Russia often opted out due to political and religious beliefs that made it difficult to return home to Russia when they had partaken in the Pride Nights held by the teams around the league. Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins was one NHL player from Russia that did not decide to opt out of the pride nights, whereas players like Philadelphia Flyers defensemen, Ivan Provorov, who chose to opt out due to his Russian Orthodox Religious beliefs and Minnesota Wild wingman, Kirill Kaprizov, who chose to opt out due to his difficulty returning home to Russia due to Russia's ban of "Gay Propaganda" that has begun to evolve into law within their country.[15] The Russian ban is described as "... [prohibiting] sharing positive and even neutral information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, and publicly displaying non-heterosexual orientations, with hefty fines for noncompliance".[16] These restrictions have caused many players from Russia to struggle with the values that the National Hockey League is trying to instill while trying to follow the rules and beliefs of their home country's laws and religious orientations.

With exponential technological advancements in the last few decades, professional athletes can reach and engage with a global audience.[17] While athletes serve as a major source of entertainment, they are becoming agents of social change, using their large followings on social media to spread messages. With their influential personalities and high statuses, prominent athletes become key influencers for social change, holding power to sway and challenge opinions to fight social injustices.

Social media is a powerful tool in activism, even outside the sports sphere.[18] Its various platforms provide an avenue in which athletes can directly engage with the public. These platforms have become the main arena for sports consumers to interact with one another, share their opinions, and respond to athletes themselves. This allows for an ongoing conversation between sports organizations, athletes, media sources, and consumers/audiences.

LeBron James is an example of an athlete using their platform to push change. He has a sizable social media following, with about 53 million followers on Twitter and 144 million followers on Instagram (as of February 2023). Though not in his job description or duties, he frequently shares content outside his realm of sports. He uses his social media presence to share opinions regarding politics, social justice issues, and other activist movements. He once stated, "We know it's bigger than us. It's not about us. I'm going to continue to do what I have to do to play this game I love to play, but this is bigger than me playing the game of basketball".[19]

In June 2020, a group of NFL players created a video titled, "Stronger Together." This video acted as a call to condemn racism and police brutality following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. The video includes many big-name athletes, including Odell Beckham Jr., Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and more. After each player (and others not featured in the video) posted the video on their platforms, the media quickly circulated through social media platforms and became an essential piece of athlete activism. With the attention and engagement the video received, it was eventually reposted on behalf of the National Football League.

Jackie Robinson was the first Black Male to play in the MLB breaking the racial boundary.

Sexual harassment, assault, discrimination, and judgment based on sex have impacted women and female sports for hundreds of years. In the world of sports, women have faced numerous challenges when attempting to be seen as equal to their male counterparts because there is a stereotype deeply rooted in the sports industry that women are incapable of being as physically strong or capable as men.[20] Because of this, female athletes competing in competitive sports have used their public outreach to spread awareness of the discrimination they face. Whether through public displays or simply out-doing men in certain sports, women have proven that they are willing to exceed societal standards and expectations.

In the 1997 Olympics, Kerri Strug was the U.S. gymnast who proved she could compete despite her physical statistics. She was four-foot-nine, weighing in at ninety pounds, and was highly doubted by fans and fellow competitors.[21] In the middle of the competition, Russia was ahead of the United States, so the team depended on an impaired Strug. Her coach encouraged her to complete the final vault to bring home the gold medal for the United States, which she executed successfully. Following her win, the United States women's team, oftentimes referred to as the "Magnificent Seven", refused to walk on the stage without their injured teammate, so they carried her out. This event was an example of how women came together in the face of adversity to showcase a sense of unity for other female athletes worldwide. Following her time in the Olympics, Strug was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and was still involved in sports as a spectator and influential figurehead.[22]

In an article written by Erin Gwydir for the University of Tennessee's independent newspaper The Daily Beacon, she states, "Sports bring out the primitive overvaluing of men’s physical nature to women’s into a relation to patriarchal representation, strength, and overall respect."[23] This is a powerful and relevant statement that speaks to the issue of discrimination towards women in national sports because it is a disadvantage that is continuously perpetuated. As of late, women are using their exposure to the public eye to speak out about the discrimination and harassment they have faced during their time in the sports industry. An example of this would be the MeToo movement, a social movement that highlights the sexual abuse, harassment, and discrimination that women have dealt with and allows them to address the public about it. Olympic gold medal gymnast Aly Raisman has been to various universities and conferences to talk about her personal experience with sexual abuse and discrimination that she has endured since she was fifteen years old.[24] Namely, she recounts the traumatic incidents of sexual abuse that she had to deal with from Larry Nassar, a former United States Gymnastics physician. Following her initial statement in 2017, several other renowned gymnasts, including Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles, followed in her footsteps.

These are prime examples of the unification of female athletes in the United States and how they connected, supported, and uplifted each other over a common cause. It should be mentioned that feminism has drastically changed from how we know it today. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, feminism was centralized around equality and promoting the idea that women are adept enough to compete with men.[25] Today, Western feminism is believed to focus more on the differences between men and women, causing a more significant divide rather than equality. Considering this, it is essential to remember that these concepts can change drastically over the years, so many people are waiting for the next movement or outcry that furthers women's equality in the world of sports. Through public displays of feminism in United States sports, women feel more comfortable competing and speaking out about the hardships they have endured.