The growing support for the Black Lives Matter movement has taken the sports world by storm. The movement itself came to life as a result of a growing awareness of police brutality against members of the African American community. In 2016, NFL player Colin Kaepernick was the first athlete to make a public statement by choosing to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality. His decision to take a knee was met with many unpleasant responses from members of the media, members of the NFL organization, and President Donald Trump. They all disagreed with the action of kneeling during the anthem because it was seen by them as a sign of disrespect to the American flag. Many African Americans felt that Kaepernick’s true message was being conflated.
Fast forward to the present, in 2020 BLM protesters took to the streets during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic to protest the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Floyd died after a police officer kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Taylor was killed when her home was entered by officers using a no-knock warrant. Taylor, unarmed was shot to death. Many players of the National Basketball Association took to the streets, along with their fellow teammates and others to stand up in solidarity for justice for what they perceive to be the murders of these African Americans.
When the NBA was ready to restart their season in the Orlando bubble, Nike gave the players permission to put social justice statements on the backs of their jerseys. When the WNBA resumed its season, players were seen wearing “Say Her Name” t-shirts every game in honor of Breonna Taylor. Also, across the world, athletes from the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) chose to wear Black Lives Matter markings on their jerseys to their games as well. Ever since the NBA resumed in July, most players have been taking a knee and locking arms with their teammates during the national anthem to show their support for the movement, and for the stance that Colin Kaepernick took in 2016. The players felt it was a prime opportunity to use their platform to bring more media broadcasts to the problem.
The most recent police involved incident was the shooting of Jacob Blake seven times in the back after he walked away from officers and attempted to enter his vehicle. Athletes from all different types of sports reacted to this incident by boycotting their games. In the NBA, the Milwaukee Bucks were the first team to boycott their playoff game by refusing to go out onto the court during warmups. The Bucks remained in their locker room and issued a forfeit of the game. Their opponent, the Orlando Magic, refused to accept the forfeit and chose to stand in unity with Milwaukee. As a result, the game was postponed. Following their lead, all other playoff teams boycotted their games while the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) discussed the potential cancellation of the remainder of the season. Former NBA player and current sports analyst Kenny Smith walked off the set on live television to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake as well. He stated, “As a black man, as a former player, I think it’s best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight”. Later in a post-game interview, former NBA player and current coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Doc Rivers, expressed his feelings about the issues faced by African Americans. Fighting back tears, he said, “What stands out to me is just watching the Republican Convention. They’re spewing this fear, right? You hear Donald Trump and all of them talking about fear. We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that were denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot. All you do is keep hearing about fear. It’s amazing to me why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back. It’s really so sad. I should just be a coach”.
Following the lead of the Bucks, Major League Baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, boycotted their scheduled game in solidarity. Tennis champion Naomi Osaka chose to boycott her semifinals match at the Western & Southern Open to show her own support and to raise awareness about social injustice. Osaka has publicly stated that she will wear a mask that depicts the names of different victims of police brutality as she continues to advance her way through the US Open.
Today, athletes continue to shed light on the issue by utilizing the media to spread awareness and fight for justice for the many victims of police brutality.
Media History and Development 
I felt that this current iteration of the Black Lives Matter protests was especially monumental because of the suspension of sports around the world. I am a huge sports fan. But, I think the games serve as a distraction from more important issues (like the aforementioned BLM movement). Therefore, when sports leagues were set to resume, I felt that people would accept the distractions and pay less attention to social injustice. The NBA, WNBA, UEFA, and Naomi Osaka have done an amazing job and using their platforms to bolster the BLM movement’s voice. The era of the socially conscious athlete is here in a post-Colin Kaepernick and post-“shut up and dribble” world. It makes me proud of these athletes for using their platforms in an attempt to invoke real change.
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