Harry Kaseff/Sports Head
The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 set off a drastic chain of events. Athletes around the world have voiced their displeasure with the police brutality that has been happening in America. Many superstars have even gone back to their hometowns in order to lead peaceful protests. Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan have done this in their own hometown: Compton, CA. They both raised their fists in the air to represent their solidarity with everyone affected by the recent outbursts of police brutality. Moments of silence have been held across the nation for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to represent how long Derek Chauvin held George Floyd down with his knee on Floyd’s neck.
Many athletes in America have a platform to voice their opinions on the issues of today’s world. This platform is not something that is new, either. Muhammad Ali voiced his disgust after being drafted into the Vietnam War when it went against his Islamic religious beliefs. Also, US athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos protested at the 1968 Olympic Games. They both raised fists as they received their Gold and Bronze medals, respectively, to peacefully protest with the LA Watts Riots. Another example of athletes using their unique platform is the LA Clippers in 2014. The owner of the Clippers at the time, Donald Sterling, made racist remarks which were recorded and published for the whole world to hear. All of the players responded by turning their warm up jerseys inside out in order to hide the Clippers logo. Head coach of the Clippers, Doc Rivers, supported the players as an African American coach. Sterling was banned from the NBA by Commissioner Adam Silver soon after the incident. Other players like LeBron James wore warm up jerseys that read, “I Can’t Breathe,” to show that they stood with the Clippers players and supported them.
Colin Kaepernick is another great example of an athlete peacefully protesting for what he believes is right. In 2016, he began to kneel while the National Anthem played. At the time many people, along with the NFL, didn't understand why he was kneeling. He knelt to display his frustration with the police brutality against African Americans in America. However, people thought kneeling during the national anthem was disrespectful to the flag and to the military. Since 2016, Kaepernick has basically been blackballed from the NFL, holding only one public workout since he opted out of his contract on March 3rd, 2017. As the BLM Movement has picked up steam from the sad death of George Floyd and others, there has been talk about Kaepernick being put on the workout list of the Los Angeles Chargers. As a Chargers fan, I think it would be a great thing to see Colin Kaepernick in a Chargers jersey. He would not only bring lots of fans and excitement to the team, he would also bring a dynamic quarterback onto the team that the offense could use in many ways.
In all of these cases of athletes protesting how people are being treated in America, not one of them has been a violent protester. These athletes fully understand their platform and know that if they protested violently, nothing good would come out of it. They understand that they’re watched by everyone, especially kids who look up to them as their idols. With all the money that athletes are making these days, they will probably be the ones to really push the ball forward to end police brutality in America.
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