The most recent and highly publicized example of activism in sports, which I was old enough to experience and follow on social media, was when Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem during the 2016 NFL season. This became so talked about on every football and news channel for what had happened and how it was taken in by the public. 

This was during a time when I was still watching NFL AM every morning before school, so I pretty much followed this topic extensively.

Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem, taking a stand against the police brutality and racial injustice going on in the United States. Many athletes joined him on the field by kneeling beside him, and speaking up in his support on social media. As more people came out in his support, many with opposing views followed.

This topic was broken apart and was looked at from two very opposite sides.

This event was looked at through various lenses from the media: 1) they focused on the purpose of the message of racial injustice and systematic racism; 2) they called it disrespectful to the American flag and its military; 3) they discussed whether or not athletes should have the right to speak freely on political topics.

Certain media outlets and public figures saw Kaepernick as “un-American” for kneeling during the national anthem, while others actually saw him as patriotic. I personally remember seeing a stream of tweets from Donald Trump, attacking not just Kaepernick, but the NFL, for 1) letting their players kneel during the anthem, and 2) broadcasting them kneeling on TV. 

Because of how much attention this had gotten, Kaepernick was able to explain his intentions through his social media and interviews, where he explained that this protest was against police brutality and racial injustice… not attacking the flag.

Ultimately, social media played a big role during this movement because people were able to instantly share their opinions on what was happening and share whether they were for it, against it, and why. The coverage from social media and news outlets did increase the awareness of Kaepernick’s messaging, but also made it more and more controversial, which divided the public in how they understood the message. 

I personally wish the NFL did more for Kaepernick after he got blackballed from the league after his protest. Although he was acknowledged in broader conversations about racial injustice and Black Lives Matter, that came years later, when corporations gave support for social justice issues. It did not feel genuine, and it was obvious that the league switched its stance after more and more corporations began to speak out.