Athletes vs. Politics

John Adames

ENG 103

Prof.Kitana Ananda

12/4/17

Athletes vs. Politics

Have you ever seen athletes fight against Politics? Since around the 1940’s athletes and politics have crashed several of times. Now more than ever with National Football League Quarterback Colin Kaepernick sitting during the National Anthem, and many NFL players kneeling all season to fight against politics. Jackie Robinson was fighting for a chance to be the first African American to ever play in the Major League Baseball. Kaepernick was sitting during the National Anthem so he can fight alongside Black Lives Matter Movement. While the NFL were kneeling to protest against Donald Trump’s antics. In this essay I will prove how the power athletes have can change the world.

One of the biggest early encounters with sports against politics. The story of the first African American baseball player Jackie Roosevelt Robinson. During Jackie Robinson’s time in the MLB the Civil Rights Movement was going on. He did not only face the adversity of whites not liking him for being the first african american to play professionally but he also faced racism and stereotypes. In a quote from “Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball” by Laurie Collier Hillstrom it states “ Although that event is now considered a defining moment in the history of the game and an early triumph in the civil rights movement, Chandler’s decision was extremely controversial at the time. It angered not only the other team owners, but also many white baseball players, fans, and corporate sponsors.”This shows that even though every year on April 15, Jackie Robinson day is celebrated. We have came a long way because when he first became a Major League player he was not very liked and was seen as a threat. Another quote that  Laurie Collier Hillstrom says in her book is “Robinson expanded his involvement in the civil rights movement after his baseball career ended. He gave speeches and raised money to support the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), for instance, and organized an annual jazz concert to benefit various causes. Robinson attended the 1963 March on Washington, where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.” This shows Jackie Robinson’s influenced the civil rights movement and was a big voice for the NAACP. As you can see Jackie Robinson and his number 42 has impacted not only politics but the world as well without Jackie Robinson we wouldn’t be talking about players like Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and David Ortiz.

Another big encounter that sports has had with politics. The story of Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement versus the government and the NFL players association. Colin started this protest when during a NFL preseason game on August 14, 2016 while the National Anthem was being sung instead of getting up and putting his hand on his heart he sat on the bench. According to Mark Sandritter from SBNation.com Kapernick stated “I’m going to continue to stand with the people that are being oppressed. To me, this is something that has to change. When there’s significant change and I feel that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, and this country is representing people the way that it’s supposed to, I’ll stand.” This shows how Kaepernick looked himself as leader and a spokesman for the victims of police brutality like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Gardner. Another quote that shows that Colin Kaepernick is still going through inequality is “Kaepernick has remained unemployed after he started a wave of social activism in the NFL by protesting issues of police brutality and inequality during the pre-game playing of the national anthem last season. Kaepernick filed a grievance against the league Oct. 15, claiming collusion by NFL owners.” This quote shows how ever since Kaepernick became a public figure for the Black Lives Matter movement nobody has wanted to sign him because they believe fans will protest against him. Before Colin Kaepernick decided to take a stand against the National Anthem and the flag I believe not a lot of people knew exactly who he was.

Bibliography

• Hillstrom, Laurie Collier. Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball. Omnigraphics, Inc., 2013.
• Sandritter, Mark. “All the Athletes Who Joined Kaepernick’s National Anthem Protest.”SBNation.com, SBNation.com, 11 Sept. 2016,    www.sbnation.com/2016/9/11/12869726/colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-protest-seahawks-brandon-marshall-nfl.