Sports

Governor Signs Executive Orders Barring Transgender Athletes From Women’s Sports

March 31, 2021 Lexi Lonas, The Hill. Educate! Schools, South Dakota, Sports, Transgender Rights

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) has signed executive orders barring transgender athletes from women’s sports in the state. “Only girls should play girls’ sports,” Noem tweeted on Monday. “Given the legislature’s failure to accept my proposed revisions to HB 1217, I am immediately signing two executive orders to address this issue: one to protect fairness in K-12 athletics, and another to do so in college athletics.” The executive orders direct the state’s Department of Education and Board of Regents to align its policies so only those who are biologically female can participate in women’s sports. Last week, Noem refused to sign the GOP bill barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.

Scheer Intelligence: The Revolt Of The Black Athlete

August 28, 2020 Robert Scheer, ScheerPost.com. Educate! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Corporatism, Podcast, Sports

Howard Bryant is a senior writer for ESPN.com and appears regularly on the sports network and NPR. His most recent book “The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism” is about the responsibility often placed upon professional black athletes from Jackie Robinson to LeBron James to be role models for social justice. In their conversation, Bryant tells host Robert Scheer that black athletes often come up against the conflict between their corporate sponsors and their desire for social justice and action.

Reopening Day 2020? Spectator Sports Are The Last Thing We Need

April 25, 2020 Robert Lipsyte, Tom Dispatch. Educate! COVID-19, health, Reopen Economy, Sports

If sports don’t trump religion as the opiate of the masses, they have, until recently, been at least the background music of most of our lives. So here’s my bet on one possible side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic to put in your scorebook: if the National Football League plays regular season games this fall, President Trump stands a good chance of winning reelection for returning America to business as usual -- or, at least, to his twisted version of the same. That’s why he announced at a recent daily coronavirus briefing-cum-rally his eagerness to bring professional sports back quickly. Though it was Major League Baseball that he mentioned -- “We have to get our sports back. I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old” -- the sport that truly matters to him is football, the only major mass entertainment (other than Trumpism) that endorses tribalism and toxic masculinity so flagrantly and keeps violence in vogue.

A BDS Campaign Tackles The Sports Industry In Portland — And Wins

November 29, 2019 By Olivia Katbi Smith, Truthout.org Resist! BDS, Portland, Sports

Boycotting for Palestinian rights works. A reporter broke the news in late September that the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team ended their partnership with Leupold & Stevens, which makes rifle scopes for Israel’s brutal occupying army, following a year-long protest campaign led by our Portland, Oregon, chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and many allies. For nearly 10 years, Leupold & Stevens sponsored a “Hometown Hero” segment during Blazers games...

Minnesotans To Protest Washington Football Team’s Racist Mascot

October 25, 2019 By Morgan Gstalter, Thehill.com Resist! Minnesota, Racism, Sports

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) is joining other Native American leaders on Thursday to protest the “racist” name and mascot of the Washington Redskins ahead of the NFL team’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. As a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan is the highest-ranking Native woman elected to executive office in the history of the United States. “In this role ― and in my role as a mom ― I will march with fellow Minnesotans who are making clear that our state does not tolerate a racist mascot," Flanagan wrote in a Thursday op-ed for the HuffPost.

2 NFL Players Kneel For Anthem, Kaepernick Tweets His Thanks

September 10, 2018 Eddie Pells, AP.org Resist! Colin Kaepernick, Nationalism, Protests, Sports

DENVER—No longer welcome on an NFL sideline, Colin Kaepernick turned to social media to make his point on the NFL’s opening Sunday. In a tweet, Kaepernick gave a shout-out to “my brothers,” Miami Dolphins teammates Kenny Stills and Albert Watson, who were the only two players in the league to take a knee during the national anthem during Sunday’s early games. “They have not backed down, even when attacked and intimidated,” Kaepernick said in the tweet, which was accompanied by a picture of the Dolphins kneeling before their game. “Love is at the root of our resistance.” It was Kaepernick, then with the 49ers, who sparked the anthem controversy by kneeling during the pregame ritual in 2016—his way of protesting policy brutality and social injustice in America.

NFL Tells Players Patriotism Is More Important Than Protest – Here’s Why That Didn’t Work During WWI

May 30, 2018 Chad Williams, Theconversation.com Strategize! Censorship, Protests, Repression, Sports

Last season, during the playing of the national anthem, dozens of NFL players kneeled, locked arms and raised their fists in protest against police and state-sanctioned violence inflicted upon African-Americans. Their actions elicited a fierce backlash, much of it fueled by President Donald Trump, who encouraged his overwhelmingly white base of supporters to boycott the NFL so long as players, in his view, continued to disrespect the flag. Seeking to avoid further controversy, on May 23, Commissioner Roger Goddell announced that for the upcoming season, “All team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.” Not following this directive could result in teams being fined and players subject to “appropriate discipline.”

NFL’s Shortsighted Anthem Policy Spits In The Face Of Freedom Of Speech

May 25, 2018 Kevin Williams, Chicagotribune.com Educate! Freedom of Speech, Repression, Sports

Just when you think the NFL is done making your soul pulsate with detestation, it says, “Hold my beer.” The league on Wednesday dealt with the idea of protest in a dimwitted way that spits in the face of the idea of free speech. The new rule on the national anthem and kneeling is NO. If team personnel are on the field for the national anthem, they must stand or the club will be fined and the commissioner will deal with you later. But — and there is always a but when idiots are making policy — players and coaches are allowed to stay in the locker room during the anthem. This has all the optics of a mud-smeared camera lens.

‘Violence’ Becomes ‘Unruliness’ When It’s Sports Fans, Not BLM Protesters

February 7, 2018 Eoin Higgins, Fair.org Educate! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Riots, Sports, Super Bowl

After the Philadelphia Eagles mounted an exciting and improbable underdog victory over the New England Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday, Philly fans poured into the city’s streets to celebrate. Fires were set, some stores were broken into, and drunk people fought and caroused across the city. Crowds of (overwhelmingly) white male fans climbed poles, leapt off of building awnings, uprooted lamp posts and generally caused mayhem and havoc across the City of Brotherly Love. The celebration ended Monday morning with only four arrests, and with what NBC Sports (2/5/18) described vaguely as “vandalism and injuries.” The muted reaction from city officials to the unrest was noted by a number of media outlets on Monday morning. Newsweek(2/5/18) noted “the difference in how the public and officials reacted to riots by fans compared to those prompted by civil unrest.”

NFL Returning $723K For Sponsored Military Tributes

September 26, 2017 Darren Rovell, www.espn.com Resist! Athletes, Sports, US military

By Darren Rovell for ESPN - The NFL is returning more than $700,000 of taxpayers' money that was paid to teams for sponsored military tributes. After being criticized for "paid patriotism," in which money came out of the armed forces budget for various measures of public recognition during games, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that the league would pay that money back. In a letter written to Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain on Wednesday, and disclosed on Thursday, Goodell said that -- following an audited review of 100 marketing agreements from 2012 to 2015 by accounting firm Deloitte & Touche -- teams were deemed to have received $723,734 for acts of sponsored patriotism. That money, Goodell promised, would be returned to the government. Goodell also wrote that marketing activities would be audited more frequently to catch such activities in the future.

The NFL Players Union Just Awarded Colin Kaepernick ‘Week 1’ MVP

September 18, 2017 Grant Stern, www.verifiedpolitics.com Resist! Activism, Athletes, Nationalism, Racism, Sports

By Grant Stern for Verified Politics - The NFL Player’s Association just picked a free agent quarterback as their Week 1 MVP for his charity work, even though he didn’t even make it onto the field. Colin Kaepernick has been blackballed by the NFL’s ownership – 97% of which is composed of enormously wealthy, mostly conservative white males – over his controversial stand to peacefully protest racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem while playing for the San Francisco 49ers last year. Kaepernick guided the Niners to a Super Bowl just four years ago, turning in a stellar performance while his team came up just short against the Baltimore Ravens. Now, he’s still making good on his pledge to donate $1 million to charity, even though he’s unemployed. The Chicago Tribune reports: The NFLPA found particularly impressive, Kaepernick’s continued donations to charity, including a Sept. 7 gift of $100,000 split between four organizations. Kaepernick, who some say hasn’t been signed by an NFL team due to his political activism, gave $25,000 each to DREAM, a New York City after-school program that promotes sports in urban neighborhoods, the Gathering for Justice’s War on Children, a forthcoming initiative to tackle child incarceration, United We Dream, an organization focused on empowering immigrant youth and the Coalition for the Homeless.

Kaepernick Supporters Protest At NFL Headquarters

August 25, 2017 Jesse J. Holland and Karen Matthews, www.sfgate.com Resist! Police abuse, Racism, Sports

By Jesse J. Holland and Karen Matthews for Associated Press. NEW YORK — Supporters of former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who chose not to stand for the national anthem to protest police brutality against blacks, showed their solidarity with him and his cause at a rally outside the headquarters of the NFL on Wednesday. More than 1,000 people, many wearing jerseys bearing Kaepernick’s name, crowded the steps outside the NFL’s midtown Manhattan offices. Kaepernick, who took the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII, opted out of his contract with the team in March and remains unsigned. Supporters say he is being blackballed for his advocacy, but some critics say he should not have sat or kneeled during the anthem or contend his lack of a job is more about his on-field talent.

NFL Fans Rally To Defend Kaepernick, Threaten To Boycott Season

August 22, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Resist! Activism, Athletes, Racism, Sports

By Staff of Tele Sur - What began as a stand against police brutality and racial injustice has led to unemployment for NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. One year after NFL star Colin Kaepernick’s took a knee during the U.S. national anthem, the football player has been left without a contract deal since becoming a free agent in March and football fans across the country are threatening to boycott the season if he doesn't get picked up. What began as a stand against police brutality and racial injustice has led to unemployment for the African American quarterback, who opted out of a contract renewal with the San Francisco 49ers earlier this year. “There will be no football in the state of Georgia if Colin Kaepernick is not on a training camp roster and given an opportunity to pursue his career,” Gerald Griggs, spokesperson for Atlanta’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told Fox News. Riggs warned that if Kaepernick does not get a contract by 5 p.m. on Sept. 17, “We will take a knee, and we will continue to take a knee on the NFL until they act with one voice."

Colin Kaepernick Is Being Blackballed By Billionaire NFL Owners

June 17, 2017 Colin Jenkins, www.truthdig.com Resist! Activists, Racial Justice, Sports

By Colin Jenkins for Truth Dig - Colin Kaepernick took a courageous and principled stand last season by kneeling during the national anthem before NFL games. This was done in response to a society that continues to systematically, culturally, and institutionally devalue black lives. This devaluation is played out in many areas, including politics, economics, housing, employment, and perhaps most notably, within the criminal punishment system. Black lives are routinely extinguished by police in the streets without recourse, in the courts without pause, and in the prisons without hesitation. Entire generations of black Americans have essentially been destroyed through the “school-to-prison pipeline” and a system of mass incarceration, for which author Michelle Alexander has properly deemed, The New Jim Crow. Kaepernick recognized this and felt compelled to bring attention to it. He openly protested the national anthem, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to community agencies, and started a national youth camp program to teach children from marginalized communities about self-empowerment.

Formerly Homeless Man Threatens Lawsuit Over St. Louis Stadium

April 10, 2015 Travis Waldron, www.thinkprogress.org Resist! Capitalism, Law, Participatory Democracy, Sports

A St. Louis resident who was formerly homeless and wants to see the city devote more money to social services and homelessness this week threatened a lawsuit against the city of St. Louis if it moves ahead with a plan to fund a new NFL stadium without giving the public a say in the process. The man, William White, is a St. Louis resident and city taxpayer, according to a letter from his lawyers to the city of St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported the letter, written by St. Louis University law professor John Ammann and three SLU law students, on Tuesday. Though specific plans are unclear, the city of St. Louis and state of Missouri could use as much as $400 million in public funds to help build a new stadium for the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, whose owner Stan Kroenke has also explored the possibility of moving the team back to Los Angeles, where the franchise played from 1946 to 1994.

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