Emma's Race & Sports Blog

I found these three related articles to be very interesting in their depiction of two separate kneeling protests, one by a white coach and the other a black player.  The first article is titled Frank Reich and Colts execs just sent a powerful message about white privilege . The article is focused around a “striking gesture” that came from Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich, who kneeled during the playing of the anthem while his players locked arms next to him. The article then makes it extremely clear that Reich has an immense amount of privilege, stating that he is a white man, was an NFL quarterback, and now has one of the most coveted jobs in sports. “He has privilege in spades”. The article states that, first, Reich kneeled to show his players that he supports them, second, to become the target for any hate, and third, to inspire other white players on his team that it's ok to kneel too and show their support. A Colts linebacker responded to the gesture with this: “ He’...

The title of the article I found this week is The Patriots have changed. Cam Newton hasn't. Together, they make for one of the NFL's most fascinating storylines . As we all know, the Patriots are experiencing a big change this year with the departure of Tom Brady. Brady, who played on the Patriots for 20 seasons, was consistent, predictable, and adored by many. He never experienced bad press, wasn’t questioned about his choices in life, and didn’t make headlines for anything besides winning Super Bowls. Now in a recent turn of events, the Patriots have named their Week 1 starter as Cam Newton, former Carolina Panthers quarterback.  Since entering the NFL, “The Newton drama has almost been like a continuously running sports reality show”. After getting picked first in the draft, Newton described himself as “both an icon and an entertainer”. Since then, his big ego, flashy style, and temperamental attitude have contributed to a poor reputation for himself. Even with his athletic ...

One article that I found on Yahoo Sports this week under the NFL category is titled Bucks' movement has what Colin Kaepernick’s didn’t: solidarity . The article begins by discussing what Kaepernick's protest entailed, and subsequently how it ‘flickered’ out. It discusses how even though in the long run some may consider Kaepernick’s kneeling and the Bucks’ walkout as one fluid movement, when in reality the events were four long years apart. Kaepernick was “mocked, derided, obliterated, and eventually, cast aside” for his silent protest however the Bucks’ players were not. The difference, the article explains, is solidarity and the safety in numbers. Once the Bucks staged their walkout, players from nearly half a dozen different leagues also walked off their own fields or courts.  This article applies greatly to concepts of racism, more specifically of how it is easy to dismiss the topic or make excuses as to why we shouldn’t be protesting in support of it. Many people focused o...