The New York Times recently published an article about the ongoing controversy regarding the various forms of protests against police brutality and President Trump that athletes have been taking while the national anthem is played at sports games. The players’ actions have sparked many a debate regarding patriotism, the American flag, and the message kneeling athletes are trying to send. Today, however, I’d like to take a look at the context: whether the sports arena is an appropriate and efficient place to provoke civic debates.
In my interpretation, sports in and of themselves are a manifestation of the most raw and primal aspects of human nature, innate in each and every one of us. The instinct to physically fight and win over an enemy is something very fundamental to humans as creatures who seek to survive in a world that was only hospitable to the fittest. Since the the world we live in has developed to the point where fighting each other to survive is no longer necessary, sports were developed to act as an outlet for the human desire to assert physical ability while also fostering strategic thinking and teamwork.
In a way, the stems of politics are a polar opposite from the origins of sports: politics are a sign of a highly developed society that can afford to spend time creating structured policies and governments. If the existence of sports is like flour in a cake, then presence of politics is like the iced lettering on the top of it. So when did the two begin to intertwine? When did sports games begin to become politicized?
I think the moment the national anthem began to be played at sports games was the official moment when politics became a part of sports. Players weren’t just playing for themselves, but playing as representatives for groups of people, places, nations. Athletes became icons, the physically fit people who symbolized the might of a nation or city. Because of the change in the nature of sports and the significance of sports teams and their players, the sports arena has naturally become a suitable setting for political discussions.
Not only is it an appropriate setting, but it’s an effective one as well. Football garners one of the widest viewerships across the entire country and is a defining aspect of American culture. As such, its players, many of whom are idolized by young and old fans alike, are poised to have great influence on a large audience. This ethos and setting can be combined to create waves in the opinion of Americans at large in a way no other groups can.
In addition to this optimal rhetorical situation, the actual gesture of “taking a knee” adds an element of pathos to the recent actions of some football players. An extreme discomfort is incited in many at the sight of the kneeling players, a discomfort stemming from the idea that their beloved idols are disrespecting the American flag, a symbol of the history, patriotism, and sacrifices made in honor of democracy. This feeling compels many to reexamine the situations the players are protesting and give more thought to the issues causing the players to act in such a manner, proving the players’ actions effective at drawing attention to the issues they are trying to make a statement about if not in a way that is utterly insulting and seemingly misdirected to many Americans.
Hi Tara! I really like this blog post, because you took it in a direction that I did not even consider; you decided to focus on a specific area of the appropriateness of the mixture of sports and politics. I did not even consider this approach, so I found it very difficult to include all of the information in a single post, as it is a very loaded topic. It was very clever to include the interpretation of “survival of the fittest” in this post where you compare sports to the rough batter or “flour” that is all mixed up in a cake to politics which are more refined as icing on top. I think it accurately reflects the influence of politics in many different areas, as it is really difficult to separate politics from any aspect of society. I completely accept your interpretation (and agree with it) when you say that you believe that the national anthem was the point in time where politics was officially infused into the world of sports. However, I would just add the fact that it has not always been the case that athletes are present on the field during the national anthem. As I was researching further about this topic for my own blog post, I found that athletes used to stay in the locker room during the national anthem, and therefore, had no way to express their opinions towards it. This is still an occurrence during college football games, as Penn State players enter the field after the national anthem is performed. I also like how you tie ethos into this paragraph without even mentioning the word. Instead, your description and words like “icon” and “symbolized” accurately reflect this understanding. You then specifically mention ethos in the following paragraph, but it is certainly referenced in the preceding paragraph as well. By ending the blog with a pathos analysis, I think it really hits home and tugs at the reader’s heartstrings. Your concluding sentence has quite a bit of information in it, but the content takes the blog in a new direction for future thought. I am curious whether or not you believe logos is present in this blog. I think it is present in the idea of how the action of taking a knee relates to the expression of free speech, but I would be curious about how you would interpret this, since you narrowed in on a certain idea of the appropriateness of the mixture of sports and politics.
The ongoing controversy over athletes protesting during the national anthem at sports games has sparked debates about patriotism and the message behind their actions. Sports, inherently a display of human nature and physical prowess, have become intertwined with politics, especially when the national anthem is played. This setting, with its wide viewership and influential athletes, is effective for provoking civic debates. The act of kneeling, while discomforting to some, draws attention to important social issues, making it a powerful form of protest. DMV NY
Not only is it an appropriate setting, but it’s an effective one as well. Football garners one of the widest viewerships across the entire country and is a defining aspect of American culture. As such, its players, many of whom are idolized by young and old fans alike, are poised to have great influence on a large audience PandaExpressFeedback