Abstract

Abstract:

Most white sports fans embrace Black athletes when they uphold traditional ideals of American nationhood and citizenship. However, Black athletes' protests during the national anthem push against America's racial status quo, resulting in ostracism and backlash from non-athletes and their respective leagues. This article addresses how fans and league officials perpetuate white supremacy as a method of silencing those who draw attention to America's racial status quo. I argue that because Black athlete activists challenge assumptions of white supremacy, especially assumptions related to the roles and limits of the Black body in public arenas, many white sports fans and organizations denigrate Black athlete activists in order to uphold white supremacist views about sports. To further this argument, I examine protests by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Colin Kaepernick. Both protests demonstrate the continuity of racist responses across history in the sports world.

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