At the conclusion of the NFL’s season in 2020, there was hope that this hiring cycle for head coaches would be different. At the time, of the 32 teams in the country’s most popular sports league, only 3 had black head coaches; a startling number for a league whose players are overwhelmingly black. Following the […]
Tag: Colin Kaepernick
The Commodification of Activism
When Nike revealed Colin Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback, to be the face of their new “Dream Crazy” marketing campaign, they drew a myriad of responses. Some took to social media to express their disbelief by burning all of their Nike gear, while others applauded the company for openly endorsing Kaepernick and his message. President […]
Black Glove, Raised Fist; Bowed Head, Bent Knee: Historical Parallels of Political Protest in Sports
It was the medal ceremony for the men’s 200-meter sprint at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, stood on the podium to receive their medals, but something was off in their appearance. On their feet, they had on black socks, but no shoes, and on their hands they […]