A Star-Spangled Protest
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Before nearly every professional athletic event in the United States, these words ring through the stadiums, arenas and fields as athletes and fans stand at attention. Or at least most athletes do. On Aug. 14, San Francisco 49er’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick started a national discussion about the anthem when he remained seated on the bench as a way to protest the treatment of people of color in the United States. He also remained seated at the next game, on Aug. 20, and then a third game on Aug. 26. The third protest, which was accompanied by a photo of him tweeted out by a reporter covering the 49ers, started receiving rapid media attention, leading to a series a solidarity protests by other athletes, including women’s soccer star, Megan Rapinoe.
Here are some questions that many people involved in sports may have: What lasting impact will Kaepernick's action have on the discussion of race in America? How has Kaepernick affected the way the media covers athletes who take a stance on social issues or politics? What does his protest mean for future social movements in athletics?
A diverse crowd of students, veterans, educators and reporters packed the Shirley Povich Sports Journalism Center at the University of Maryland on Wednesday, Oct. 5 to hear a distinguished panel of reporters, scholars and former athletes try and answer these questions.
University of Maryland professor and Washington Post columnist Kevin Blackistone moderated the discussion with former Washington Post editor and current University of Maryland professor George Solomon. The two men helped keep the discussion balanced between the past and present. Blackistone explained how race relations and diversity in America have changed not only the conversation, but the physical makeup of the newsroom. Twenty-five years ago, Blackistone said, he was one of only five black sports columnists, and USA Today columnist Christine Brennan added that the same lack of diversity could be seen between the genders. Brennan has been particularly outspoken about the inequalities in the media, and in 1987, she helped start the Association of Women in Sports Media to build support for aspiring young women who wanted to report on sports. Gender and race have both been topics of discussion in the newsroom, and more diversity is needed in both categories, Brennan said.
In terms of standing for the anthem, she said that she respected Kaepernick’s decision and that it reminds her of the Olympic protests during the 1968 Olympic Games. “Athletes have a social conscience that we haven’t seen since the 1960’s,” Brennan said.
Ray Schoenke, an 11-year veteran of the Washington football team, compared the actions
of Kaepernick to protests during the Vietnam War and the national tensions occurring in the 60’s and 70’s, and he said he thinks Kaepernick is fighting “the right fight.” In 1968, John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised fists when accepting their medals at the Mexico City Olympic Games as a form of protest against race relations during the Vietnam War. President Obama recently invited Smith and Carlos to the White House to recognize them for their athletic achievements. However, at the time of the Olympic victories, Sports Illustrated neglected to feature them on the cover of the magazine. Solomon, an editor at the time, said that Washington Post reporter Shirley Povich penned a letter after the magazine release arguing for the rights of athletes to protest.
The themes of sports and history ran through the entire 90-minute panel discussion, but all of the speakers also emphasized that Kaepernick's protest has moved sports towards a broader discussion. “Sports takes us to conversations we might not normally have,” Brennan said, referring to issues of race, national identity, diversity, and how athletes are treated.
In May 2016, ESPN added to the conversation on race and sports when the company launched a new website on sports, race and culture called The Undefeated. Former Washington Post managing editor Kevin Merida took on the role of editor-in-chief and has led the site to publish both shorter recaps as well as long-form journalism.
ESPN also hosts a vertical and separate site for women in sports, abbreviated ESPNW. While ESPNW has been around much longer than The Undefeated, its success is still worth noting. In 2000, Sports Illustrated launched a women’s magazine titled “Sports Illustrated for Women,” but the publication only lasted a little over two years. ESPNW, on the other hand, continues to expand, and has three writers on a national ESPN radio show called “The Trifecta,” where female sports journalists Kate Fagan, Jane McManus and Sarah Spain connect every week to talk about issues in sports.
The Undefeated has also gone beyond sports journalism in its work and has sponsored events on race and sports such as Town Hall interviews with President Obama, and several Undefeated editors sat in the audience as Merida spoke on the Shirley Povich panel. Merida drew on his journalism experience to explain the history of social activism from black athletes and describe the role of the press in covering such actions.
“Athletes are more complex than we give them credit for,” Merida said. “Michael Jordan set an example for the black athlete. Not since OJ [Simpson] have we seen this kind of representation, and now athletes like LeBron [James] are willing to talk about it.”
While journalists represented the majority of the panel, ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack explained how Kaepernick’s actions fit within the law, while Schoenke and former NFL player and Undefeated contributor Domonique Foxworth represented the views of athletes. side. Foxworth said he thinks Kaepernick's protests will lead to more responsible adults in the next generation because they will have to confront these issues.
“Kaepernick is having an impact on the way our youth think,” he said.
However, he did warn that more progress will need to come. “Kaepernick is not our Jesus. Now it’s up to us,” Foxworth said. “The action has caused our minds to shift one percent, and that one percent can grow over time.”
Jared Ball, a professor at Morgan State and recent PhD recipient, also spoke on the panel, bringing an academic angle to the discussion and stressing that sports offers an outlet for people to express themselves in non-violent ways.
“Give them baseball bats so they don’t pick up rifles,” Ball said.
At the very end of the panel discussion, a veteran stood up and chastised the panel for supporting what he believed to be an action disrespectful to American soldiers. For most of the session, the panelists remained in support of Kaepernick, and the audience member gave each speaker the chance to respond to the common argument against the protest.
Foxworth argued that Kaepernick’s “kneeling pays homage to those who have died. People died to allow him to eat at the same lunch table,” but the veteran continued to resist. Brennan chimed in that Kaepernick’s freedom to protest “is exactly what makes the U.S. the greatest country on earth,” but her comments still did not relieve the man of his concerns about the protest. He motioned to speak to the panel after the session, and both Brennan and Foxworth seemed to appreciate the opportunity to address the other side of the argument.
Following the panel, Brennan spent nearly an hour with the University of Maryland’s Association of Women in Sports Media chapter and answered questions ranging from gender inclusivity in the newsroom to mentorship and the Rio Olympic Games. She brought together the issues of race, gender and sports through both her panel remarks and small group discussion, reinforcing the idea that while progress has been made, and is still being made, challenges remain for minority athletes and reporters.
