History of Protest in Sports-Recent Protest in Sports
Sports have always been a major part of the American way of life, no matter what people’s race, gender, religious background and/or sexual orientation is, people from all walks of life partake in or are fans of some area of sports in one way or another. Sports have such an influence on society that Nelson Mandela was able to use the sport rugby to help dismantle the apartheid system in South Africa. Mandela has once said “Sports has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a ways that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than …show more content…
Years after this groundbreaking event Smith stated that they “were just human beings who understood there was a need to bring attention to the inequality in our country.” Carlos was quoted saying that they knew that what there were going to do “was far greater than any athletic feat”. Fifty years after Muhammad Ali’s protest of the draft and forty-eight years after Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fist for human rights, athletes today are still using their platform to speak out against the injustices in America.
Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was the focal point in the media this year when, before a preseason game, he decided to sit down as opposed to the tradition of standing during the Star - Spangled Banner. Kaepernick explained his position stating “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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 getting way with …show more content…
Nearly 32 percent of adults said they are less likely to watch NFL games because of the Kaepernick-led player protests against racial injustice, according to Rasmussen 's telephone/online survey of 1,000 American adults conducted Oct. 2-3 The argument is that athletes get paid a lot of money to entertain us, not to inform us of their political views. Colts owner Jim Irsay explained this theory to USA Today’s Jarrett Bell: “I think it’s the wrong venue. It hasn’t been a positive thing.” However, there are other factors that have been contributing to the decrease in ratings besides the Kaepernick inspired protests. These factors are things such as: the presidential election , the lack of star studded matchups , oversaturation , daily fantasy sports bans , the Cubs ' playoff run, and the crackdown on celebrations just to name a
Sports have always been a major part of the American way of life, no matter what people’s race, gender, religious background and/or sexual orientation is, people from all walks of life partake in or are fans of some area of sports in one way or another. Sports have such an influence on society that Nelson Mandela was able to use the sport rugby to help dismantle the apartheid system in South Africa. Mandela has once said “Sports has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a ways that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sports can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than …show more content…
Years after this groundbreaking event Smith stated that they “were just human beings who understood there was a need to bring attention to the inequality in our country.” Carlos was quoted saying that they knew that what there were going to do “was far greater than any athletic feat”. Fifty years after Muhammad Ali’s protest of the draft and forty-eight years after Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fist for human rights, athletes today are still using their platform to speak out against the injustices in America.
Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was the focal point in the media this year when, before a preseason game, he decided to sit down as opposed to the tradition of standing during the Star - Spangled Banner. Kaepernick explained his position stating “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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 getting way with …show more content…
Nearly 32 percent of adults said they are less likely to watch NFL games because of the Kaepernick-led player protests against racial injustice, according to Rasmussen 's telephone/online survey of 1,000 American adults conducted Oct. 2-3 The argument is that athletes get paid a lot of money to entertain us, not to inform us of their political views. Colts owner Jim Irsay explained this theory to USA Today’s Jarrett Bell: “I think it’s the wrong venue. It hasn’t been a positive thing.” However, there are other factors that have been contributing to the decrease in ratings besides the Kaepernick inspired protests. These factors are things such as: the presidential election , the lack of star studded matchups , oversaturation , daily fantasy sports bans , the Cubs ' playoff run, and the crackdown on celebrations just to name a