Racial profiling triggers protests by pro athletes
NFL players say acts of defiance are personal, not political
A son who saw a police officer hold a gun to his father’s head. A husband whose wife was pulled over driving a Bentley.
These unsettling scenes are among the stories fromsome of theNFL’smarquee players, multimillionaires sharing tales of racial profiling by law enforcement. It is a troubling concern for people of color that has been at the center of the protests begun in August 2016 by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The protests havewaned, but the ongoing issue for players— and the black communities they come from— hasnot.
The Associated Press surveyed 56 of the 59 black players at last weekend’s Pro Bowl game as part of its look at how African-American athletes have long used their sports platforms to effect social and political change. The AP asked the players whether they or someone they knew have ever experienced racial profiling. All said yes. “You can probably ask any black man out here and the answer is yes,” said Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackleMalik Jackson. “It’s not like this is just starting today or a newthing. It’s gone on for a long time. I think African-Americanmen have been (victims) of racial profiling for a long time, by either the things theywear or just by the color of their skin.”
In protesting, Kaepernick and others attempted to highlight the killings of unarmed blackmen by police, an issue brought intothenational spotlight by Black Lives Matter activists after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri , in 2014. But the message was quickly overtaken by fans offended by the players’ decision to kneel during the anthem.
“That was the main thing with the protests, to bring awareness so people know what’s going on,” said Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey. “That’s the first step to trying to fix the situation.”
NFL playerswho have protested this season have been in the minority, and protests waned as the season went on. Some players are focusing on ways of addressing injustice off the field.
“If it affects that many people by taking a knee, just stand up, it’s that simple,” said Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey. “Taking a knee during the anthem, inmy opinion, changes nothing. Giving back to the community, being around the kids and people in poverty, I respect that.”
Formany players, the issue is not one of patriotism, but rather it is personal.
“At the end of the day, we’re not trying to disrespect nobody,” said Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye. “No matter what happens, I feel like somebody is not going to be happy, but we have a lot of respect for our country and respect for the game.”
Bouye was among the players who recounted firsthand experience with racial profiling.
“My dad, when I was growing up ... gun to his head and everything,” Bouye said. “That’s why it hits close to me. We know that there are issues going on, and maybe some people don’t want to bring awareness to them, but we’ll find a way.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said he, his father and hiswife have all been victims of racial profiling— even after he became a successful athlete.
“It happened to my wife in the past couple of years,” said McCoy, who was drafted in 2010. “She got pulled over. She was driving a Bentley. Nice neighborhood, and they pulled her over. All her stuff was right and they just didn’t have any reason. It just wasn’t right.”
Black athletes have been finding a way to fight for social change formore than 100 years, from Jack Johnson to Muhammad Ali to Kaepernick.
Their fights have come at great personal expense, from alienation by fellow Americans to incarceration to the loss of their careers.
NFL players faced backlash of their own in 2017.
During the season, PresidentDonald Trump referred to the players as “sons of bitches” and suggested they be fired. And Trump again condemned the protests in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, juxtaposing the campaign against the patriotic efforts of a white child who has planted thousands of American flags on the graves of veterans.
A recent AP-NORC poll showedmost Americans think refusing to stand for thenational anthemis disrespectful to the country, the military and theAmerican flag. Most African-Americans polled were more likely to approve of theplayers’ protests. Only4 in10Americans polled saw refusing to stand for the flag as an act of patriotism.