This past year, a high-profile athlete from the San Francisco 49ers, Colin Kaepernick, began kneeling during the playing of the national anthem, “to protest what he deems are wrongdoings against African Americans and minorities in the US” (Wyche, 2016). This started a wave of other players joining in Kaepernick’s cause and was recently accented when teams across the country responded to President Trump’s comments on the situation. The recent proliferation of knelling during the playing of the national anthem from NFL players and staff has sparked quite a reaction from fans. Many fans have been seen burning season tickets, clothing, and memorabilia in response to their team’s stance on kneeling during the playing of the national anthem.
The Social Identity Theory (SIT) focuses on intergroup behaviors, which is driven by both personal and social identities (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012). Fans identify with both their teams and their players and when social and personal identities clash there is a conflict. This seems to be the current situation many fans are facing with the players response to kneeling during the national anthem. According to Dietz-Uhler, et al… (2002) fans can react in one of two ways: in-group bias effect or “black sheep” effect.
The in-group bias effect maintains that fans will remain loyal to their team, regardless of the controversial behavior of a player (Dietz-Uhler, 1999). Whereas, the “black sheep” effect states fans will continue to be loyal to the team but will distance themselves from the controversial player and deem them as not representative of the entire team (Marques, Yzerbyt, & Leyens, 1988). These two effects have certainly been apparent in both reading various social media sites and watching NFL games.
The SIT is driven by both the personal and social identities of an individual. However, when these two identities have a conflict, it creates a dilemma for how one will react to various situations. Colin Kaepernick has stayed true to his personal identity at the cost of his career. He is currently a free agent in the NFL and it appears he will not be signed by any team soon. Fans are currently in a conflict between wanting to be loyal to their team or outcast them as “black sheeps” for their perceived disrespect to the national anthem. Also, NFL players and staff are in the same situation, will they stay true to their personal identity while also maintaining an allegiance to their team. This NFL year will certainly be filled with decision by both fans and players.
Wyche, S. (2016). Colin Kaepernick explains why he sat during national anthem. NFL News. Retrieved from http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-explains-why-he-sat-during-national-anthem
Schneider, F.W., Gruman, J. A., and Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Dietz-Uhler, B., End, C., Demakakos, N., Dickirson, A., and Grantz, A. (2002). Fans’ reactions to law breaking athletes. International Sports Journal, 6, 160-170.
Dietz-Uhler, B. (1999). Defensive reactions to group relevant information. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. 2, 17-29.
Marques, J.M., Yzerbyt., V.Y., and Leyens, J.P. (1998). The black sheep effect? Extremity of judgements toward ingroup members as a function of group identification. European Journal of Social Psychology, 18, 1-16.
Tags: identity, in-group bias, NFL, SIT, Social identity theory