Over recent weekends, several NFL teams have engaged in public demonstrations to show their solidarity in response to President Trump\u2019s recent comments about how owners should respond if players follow Colin Kaepernick\u2019s kneeling action during the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Several teams chose to kneel during the anthem in direct objection to the President\u2019s comments. Most of another team decided against being on the field until after the anthem ended. Numerous team owners locked arms with players, while others offered public statements expressing support of their players.<\/p>\n
Despite the symbolic nature of these demonstrations, they are just that: symbolic. Let\u2019s be clear about what these demonstrations were and were not:<\/p>\n
The multiple impacts of these demonstrations are not mutually exclusive (either positive or negative).<\/p>\n
However, it is important to understand that these demonstrations were not<\/em> a form of activism.<\/p>\n Activism through sport has manifested in symbolic gestures, sport-based challenges, and grassroots efforts. Yet the most powerful form of activism within a capitalist society is economic activism.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Kaepernick\u2019s decision to take a knee last year was activism because it disrupted the social order, drawing attention to vast inequalities and injustices in our society and issuing a direct call to action to all U.S. citizens \u2014\u00a0particularly lawmakers, judicial officers, and law enforcement \u2014 to be more reflective and prudent in their roles in serving communities that have been historically and contemporarily disadvantaged.<\/p>\n