Who Says Shut Up and Dribble? Race and the Response to Athletes’ Political Activism

Abstract

In response to a political comment from NBA superstar LeBron James, a Fox News commentator suggested he "shut up and dribble." James and many others considered the comment racist. Defenders suggested the comment was driven by political ideology rather than race. Interestingly, both perspectives could find support in existing research, as some studies depict race as a central factor in responses to political athletes, while other studies dismiss the role of race and find that political ideology and nationalistic sentiments drive how people see activist athletes. Using responses to a large national survey asking whether respondents find athlete political activism "acceptable," here I find strong evidence that both ideology and race shape attitudes on the subject. The picture that emerges reveals that party and ideology matter, but even after controlling for them, the race and racial views of the respondent help shape their perspective on political athletes. Establishing the importance of race and racial views here helps illuminate why the intersection of sports and politics generates such fierce responses including unvarnished vitriol from some political figures.

The Performance and Reception of Race-Based Athletic Activism: Toward a Critical, Dramaturgical Theory of Sport

“…Cooper 2021 ; Bryant 2018 ). There is now a great deal of research on how athletes participate in activism and the social conditions that constrain and enable their actions (Ferguson and Davis 2019 ; Houghteling, and Dantzler 2019 ; Niven 2021 ; Sanderson, Frederic, and Stokes 2016; Cunningham, et al, 2019 ; Cooper et al 2019a , b ). In the contemporary era, for example, sport-based activism has been driven by athlete’s connections to larger Black Lives Matter movements, as seen in their direct participation in protests across the US and world.…”

“…One basic finding is that race-based athletic protest engenders as much public opposition as it does support; indeed, bifurcated, polarized opinions are perhaps the most prominent and basic pattern (Mueller 2021 ; Fredericks, et al 2019 ). Not surprisingly, race is a key dividing line in attitudes about athletic activism, and pre-existing political beliefs and commitments also play a major role in shaping support or opposition (Niven 2021 ; Mueller 2021 ; Intravia, Piquero and Piquero 2018 ). However, there is also more variability than we might expect.…”

Retheorizing the Cultural Politics of Sport After a Decade of Activism, Populism, and Polarization

“…I myself have studied polarized responses to athletic activism primarily in the context of race-based athletic protest. Polarization, both strong support and intense opposition, is quite evident in both public opinion polling (Intravia et al, 2018;Niven, 2021) and social media (Frederick et al, 2018;Gill, 2018) as well as in interviews and focus groups (Chaplin & Montez de Oca, 2019). In some respects, the appearance of new levels of public support for athlete activism provides evidence that the public is both more attuned to and supportive of uses of sport for purposes of advocacy and dissent.…”

Which sway? Athlete activism, teammate allyship and fan patriotism

“…Sport scholarship regarding athlete activism has proliferated in the years since Colin Kaepernick “took a knee” in silent protest against police brutality while the US national anthem played (Niven, 2021; Peacock and Biernat, 2022; Smith and Tryce, 2019; Smith, 2019). Utilizing the apologia genre to analyze Kaepernick's and his defenders' public statements, Martin and McHendry (2016) posit two pathways extending from Kaepernick's protest: (1) Kaepernick aims to move beyond the protest itself and direct attention to systemic racism and (2) Kaepernick's defenders aim to distinguish his silent protest from condemnations that he is unpatriotic.…”

“…Where fans flock to enjoy gameday competition, they also may be confronted with displays and expressions that provoke their emotions, reveal their social positions and expose their patriotism (Branscombe and Wann, 1994; Sanderson et al ., 2016; Smith and Lord, 2018; Smith and Tryce, 2019). Widely polarizing reactions to the protests during the national anthem (hereafter “anthem-linked protests”) of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick have poignantly illustrated this point for Americans (Niven, 2021; Peacock and Biernat, 2022). In 2016, Kaepernick declared:I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.…”