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Joseph Foradora

Dr. Rosenberg

English 137h

October 23, 2022

Shut Up and Dribble?

America has, and always will be, an entertainment-centered society. Whether it be fashion

shows, Hollywood films, or Broadway musicals, the event is sure to draw national or even

international coverage. American sports garner a similar following as these events, with people

becoming obsessive fans of teams and spending copious amounts of money to show support. The

three major American professional sports leagues are the National Football League (NFL), Major

League Baseball (MLB), and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Professional athletes

in these organizations easily make a triple-digit salary every year. The largest salaries are

approaching 50 million dollars per year in American sports. Consequently, athletes spend their

entire lives for the chance to play in professional sports leagues. However, toxic fans and reports

feel that athletes are being paid large amounts of money, so they should not speak their minds on

social issues. According to some groups and news outlets, the influence that athletes have on

children is dangerous to the nation's perfect ideology. On February 10, 2018, Fox News anchor

Laura Ingraham hosted a broadcast in which she belittled professional basketball players Lebron

James and Kevin Durant for their political views. She famously said basketball players should

just "shut up and dribble" (YouTube). Her broadcast did not uncover the shocking reality that

athletes are viewed as objects of entertainment. It is rooted deep in our society that athletes are

second-class citizens because of sports history and, of course, racism. However, since the

broadcast, athletes have been more active than ever in voicing their opinions, being social
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activists, and helping underprivileged communities. Professional football players are not treated

much better. The players are constantly being neglected, treated like sources of income, and

forced out of the league if they speak their righteous opinion. The NFL's straightforward neglect

of player safety perfectly demonstrates how the players are only utilized to rake in the money for

the NFL franchises. The Fox newscast with Laura Ingraham and the NFL's disregard for player

safety clearly demonstrate America's obsessive ownership of athletes.

February 19, 2019: the midst of the Donald Trump presidency. Per usual, President

Trump's ratings were down, his ability was doubted, and people were outraged. Fox News

released a segment attacking professional athletes for their influence on politics and attacked

mainly African Americans for voicing their opinion, which is also not unordinary for Fox News.

According to Laura Ingraham, Lebron James is an uneducated, dumb jock who should keep his

mouth out of politics. Keep in mind that Fox News is the same organization that believes in the

American dream and advocates for the representation of the American people (or so they say).

So how can Lebron James be attacked for not going to college, perfecting his skill- which

happens to be basketball, starting a family, and being active in the political world? Lebron James

is, by definition, the epitome of the American dream.

So, if Lebron James represents the American dream, why does Fox News feel the need to

try to dismantle his beliefs? Fox News is well known for being a right-wing news outlet and is

willing to climb over mountains to protect republican politicians and right-wing groups.

However, Fox News prefers to take an aggressive approach when reporting. Instead of

supporting right-wing arguments, Fox News attacks left-wing ideologies and will go as far as to

attack a person and try to cancel them. That is a little hypocritical for a company that is against
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cancel culture. It can be clearly seen that racism must be involved in Fox News' arguments

against Lebron James.

The NBA is comprised mostly of African Americans, who make up over 70% of the league.

However, less than 50% of the head coaches are African American, and the great Michael Jordan

is the sole African American majority owner of an NBA team. This unequal representation in

ownership perfectly shows how racism and inequality have been institutionalized in the United

States. In 2019, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green brought to attention this

misrepresentation in ownership. He, along with many other notable players, pointed out that the

discrepancy between ownership and athlete represents the history of the dominance of white

males and the suppression of African American males in America (New York Times).

The same kind of predicament arises when considering the National Football league.

Nearly 60% of NFL players are African American. However, there has never been an African

American majority owner in the history of the NFL (NFL). The NFL's clear disregard for player

safety is almost equally as alarming as this. A large majority of the fan base seems complacent

with the safety concerns, and people commonly say, "it is just part of the game" or "they knew

what they were getting themselves into." Thankfully, there are people who do care about player

safety, and the NFL has been forced to implement modern safety guidelines. People raising

awareness for player safety are the only way that rules are changed in the NFL. But still, the NFL

is resilient to these changes and wants to keep the "traditions" alive. Whenever something is kept

alive for the sake of tradition, it is best to bet that the tradition is harmful to someone. Whether it

be national holidays, phrases, or religious practices, defending something for the sake of tradition

is no way to go about life.

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The NFL also feels the need to suppress player opinion for the sake of economic gain.

Football has been around for more than a century, and in that time, the National Football League

developed a strong idea of its target audience. The large majority of fans happen to be middle-

aged, male, middle-class people. Middle-class, middle-aged males also make up most of the

republican population (Gough). However, the majority of the NFL is made up largely of younger

people and minorities, who are overwhelmingly left-leaning. Therefore, the NFL has tried to

maintain a chokehold on social activism that comes from players and tries to largely appeal to

republicans, all for the sake of money. The best example of this is the ex-San Francisco 49ers

quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Colin Kaepernick was fed up with the injustice in America and

decided to kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and other institutionalized

forms of racism (Boren). Teammates joined Kaepernick in the stand against injustice, then a few

players from other teams, and the protest quickly became league-wide. However, because most

of the National Football League's audience is republican, the protests were not well received. The

NFL's ratings dramatically decreased, and people started to boycott the league. The ridiculous

outrage burned a hole in the pockets of NFL owners, and they needed someone to blame. The

blame was immediately placed on Colin Kaepernick, who was forced out of the league.

The Fox News anchor's comments could easily be dismissed as another republican trying

to discredit the actions of a democrat with a large presence. However, the problem is rooted

much deeper than political differences.

Athletes have long been looked at like assets and a source of income to team owners, and a

source of entertainment to fans. When athletes speak their opinion, they are quickly dismissed as

uneducated or corrupt people. Instead, they should be looked at as hard-working, honest citizens

looking to use their platform to improve American society for the better. The same conclusion
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can be derived by examining how the NFL approaches the creation of new rules and guidelines.

The NFL has not cared for providing adequate safety procedures because of the traditional view

of players as exposable pawns used to rake in money. These artifacts provide a clear look into

America's obsession with the ownership of athletes and the suppression of their political

opinions.
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Works Cited

Boren, Cindy. “A Timeline of Colin Kaepernick's Protests against Police Brutality, Four Years
after They Began.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 Aug. 2020,
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/06/01/colin-kaepernick-kneeling-history/\.

Gough, Christina. “NFL Interest by Age US 2022.” Statista, Statista, 15 June 2022,
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1098885/interest-level-football-age/.

“Is Slavery’s Legacy in the Power Dynamics of Sports?” Is Slavery’s Legacy in the Power
Dynamics of Sports?, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2019,
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/sports/basketball/slavery-anniversary-basketball-
owners.html.

NFL. “Team Owners of the NFL.” NFL.com, NFL Enterprises, 6 Dec. 2011,
https://www.nfl.com/photos/team-owners-of-the-nfl-09000d5d824c9f3c#d98c5922-5d32-
4a7b-985f-6ede94278b0e.

“Shut up and Dribble- (Full Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Feb. 2018,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlHuaOIvRLY.