Flag on the Play: Colin Kaepernick and the Protest Paradigm

The Impact of National Anthem Protests on National Football League Television Ratings

“…Kneeling appears to result in a 0.065 decrease in ratings while locker room confinement is associated with a 0.068 decrease in ratings. The kneeling result in particular is interesting because research has shown that media narratives around the protests focused more on the type of protest rather than the reasoning behind it (Coombs et al, 2019).…”

“…The image of players, teams, the league, and advertisers are all vulnerable to the resulting economic consequences. As Coombs et al (2019) astutely write, "This is particularly important in the age of digital media. Given the speed with which messages travel via social media, individuals must take careful consideration of the personal and professional costs of engaging in social protests" (p. 4).…”

Black Lives Matter: perspectives from South African cricket

“…Coombs and Cassilo (2017) highlight that some of the most vocal supporters of the BLM movement have been athletes, citing LeBron James as a case in point. Another athlete who used his platform to raise awareness and protest against racialized oppression and police brutality was San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, who was ostracized for taking a knee during the US national anthem (Coombs et al 2019;Boykoff and Carrington 2020). With the death of George Floyd, more prominent athletes worldwide voiced their support for the BLM movement such as Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff (tennis), Lewis Hamilton (F1), and has also extended to international teams (Bundesliga teams, West Indies cricket team) and leagues (English Premier League) showing their support (BBC Sport 2020; Ghani 2020).…”

Can celebrity athletes burst the echo chamber bubble? The case of LeBron James and Lady Gaga

“…A 2010 study amongst black male athletes at a US university found that they perceive that race continues to be a major issue in US society in the 21st century and thus they deem that Afro-American athletes have the responsibility to raise the issue of contemporary racial discrimination (Agyemang et al, 2010). More recently, a 2019 study (Coombs et al, 2019) concluded that, although during the coverage of Colin Kaepernick's protest the mainstream media focused on the act of kneeling while the anthem was played rather than the essence of the protest, his activism still successfully brought the Black Lives Matter protest to the mainstream media agenda. Still, it is important to note that the issue of reception of Afro-American athletes' activism, especially amongst whites, is complex.…”