Why Are Only Black Players Kneeling?

Note: This story originally appeared on my blog on October 11, 2017.

As I wrote in a previous post, Mike Pence walked out of an Indianapolis Colts game, supposedly offended by NFL players’ kneeling protest of the American flag. While I was writing that post, I attempted to find a picture of the kneeling players that I could use. After I found a photo, I noticed that all the players who knelt were black.

At first, I didn’t think to much of it; the NFL is dominated by black players and the anthem protests were designed to call attention to police brutality directed at blacks. It makes sense that black players would take the lead on this.

Then I wondered why white players weren’t showing support for their teammates. Aside from Seth DeValve, a tight end for the Cleveland Browns and all the white NFL players who knelt in defiance of Donald Trump on September 24th, to date, no white players have participated in the protest.

Is it because they’re no longer sure what the protest is about or is it because white football players feel that kneeling during the national anthem actually is an act of disrespect? After all, right-wing political pundits have conflated civilian police departments with the United States military to the point where many Americans feel that the protest disrespects the troops.

Is it because white NFL players have no sense of solidarity with their black teammates off the field? Or maybe they didn’t hear the news about one of their fellow players, Seattle Seahawk, Michael Bennett being assaulted by police in Las Vegas last month.

Maybe a few of the “woke” players feel that their participation will upstage the black players who started the protest. Or maybe an NFL locker room, like all workplaces in America, is an arena where personality conflicts, competing agendas, personal ambition and power plays all undercut altruism.

Is it because some of the white players are subconsciously racist? Or, are they consciously but quietly racist and, recognizing that racism directly benefits them, don’t want to work toward its eradication? It is not at all unheard of for white racists to keep impolitic attitudes to themselves in order to maintain employment.

Or is it simply because the white players of the NFL simply don’t understand that racism is their problem, too? While many well-meaning white people decry racism — even acknowledge the pain and suffering it causes — they often don’t feel that they are responsible for fighting to end it.

Whatever, the reason(s), by saluting the flag while their teammates kneel, white NFL players are making it clear that they support America’s racial status quo. Now that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL team owners are mulling shutting down the protests altogether, it remains to be seen whether white players will defend their fellow players’ First Amendment right to peacefully protest.