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Cheng, Elizabeth. “The Rise of Advocacy in Social Media.” the Epic. Accessed December 15, 2023. https://lhsepic.com/8233/opinion/the-rise-of-advocacy-in-social-media-2/.

“Donald Trump Blasts NFL Anthem Protesters: ‘Get That Son of a Bitch off the Field.’” The Guardian, September 23, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/sep/22/donald-trump-nfl-national-anthem-protests.

Gruneau, Richard. “Sport and Modernity.” International Sociology 34, no. 2 (2019): 207–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/0268580919831625b.

O’Mahoney, Mike J. “Sport in the USSR: Physical Culture – Visual Culture.” History 93, no. 311 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-229x.2008.431_53.x.

Rinehart, Robert. Robert E. Rinehart, “Cold War Expatriot Sport: Symbolic Resistance and International Response in Hungarian Water Polo at the Melbourne Olympics, 1956” [pp. 45-63] 42, no. 3 (1977). https://doi.org/10.2307/2272874.

Roegiers, Brett. “Not Just a Knee.” CNN. Accessed December 15, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/09/us/nfl-anthem-protests-cnnphotos/.

Streeter, Kurt. “Kneeling, Fiercely Debated in the N.F.L., Resonates in Protests.” The New York Times, June 5, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/sports/football/george-floyd-kaepernick-kneeling-nfl-protests.html.

TodayShow. “Women Soccer Players Take a Knee in Protest of Racism at Tokyo Olympics.” TODAY.com, July 22, 2021. https://www.today.com/news/megan-rapinoe-alex-morgan-soccer-players-take-knee-protest-tokyo-t226302.

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Mike O'Mahoney; Sport in the USSR - Physical Culture

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Mike O'Mahoney; Sport in the USSR - Physical Culture

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Sport has even been used to promote societies to make changes to their culture. This has been seen in the USSR when they introduced mass gymnastic parades that was meant for the people of USSR to watch and even participate. The purpose for this was to support an idea Soviet authorities approved of, establishing a culture that focuses on the fitness health of all people. As these spectacles were shown to the masses, it became easy for society to accept the ideals of Fizkultura and find ways to incorporate it in every day life.

Similarly, with the action of kneeling, modern sport was able to influence new ideas onto the masses. As it became more common to see athletes participate in this movement, society began to also take action. By society forming their own protests against racism and police brutality, a culture and social movement was established with the aid of sport.

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U.S Government's thoughts on the activism shown in sport (video in link)

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U.S Government's thoughts on the activism shown in sport (video in link)

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Resulting from Colin Kapernick's resistance, U.S President Donald Trump spoke against his actions. His opinion is sport should remain apolitical and focus solely on the game that is played.

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Donald Trump blasts NFL anthem protesters: ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field’

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The president ripped into NFL players who have kneeled for the national anthem during a speech in Alabama on Friday night

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However, research from Gruneau who was taught in class in does not believe politics can be left out of sport. He argues, "the politics of representation are important aspects of the perception of modern sport ‘as its own object’ and of the philosophical/political/moral discourses that linked this cultural object to an ostensibly rational “project” of modernity.” (p. 63)

As Gruneau argues politics of representation are important aspects in modern sport, he supports the idea that activism in sport should be allowed and there is civic consciousness in sport. Because of this, demands for social and political change/resistance do have a place in the world of sport as they are connected.

Therefore, this political movement in modern sport should be accepted as sport can reflect policy and ideas of a society.

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Further, women in sports also took part in the stand against police brutality and inequality. This was seen on an international scale during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where women's teams participated in advocating for change.

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The referee's whistle blew, the British players glanced at one another and they dropped to their knees. Their Chilean counterparts responded in kind, all taking a knee at the Sapporo Dome.

An hour later, it was the American and Swedish players in Tokyo taking part Wednesday in united, unprecedented gestures against racism by teams at an Olympics.

And the final women's soccer game of the day saw Australia's players pose with an Indigenous flag and link arms before kickoff while their New Zealand counterparts knelt.

On the initial day of action at the Tokyo Games, the soccer players were the first athletes to use the Olympic platform for a display of activism.

Long restricted by the International Olympic Committee, such protests within limited parameters are now permitted at the Games inside the field of play.

Unlike in sports like the NFL, where players take a knee during the national anthem, in soccer it happens just before kickoff.

"It's an opportunity for us to continue to use our voices and use our platforms to talk about the things that affect all of us intimately in different ways," U.S. captain Megan Rapinoe said after her team's shock 3-0 opening loss to Sweden about using the Olympics to address social issues.

"We have people from Team USA, from all over the country, from all backgrounds, and people literally from all over the world for every other team so I obviously encourage everyone to use that platform to the best of their ability to do the most good that they possibly can in the world, especially as all eyes are on Tokyo these next couple weeks."

The Americans had decided earlier this year to stop kneeling during the anthem. It had started in soccer in 2016 with Rapinoe being inspired to show solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, who decided to kneel rather than stand during the anthem while playing for the San Francisco 49ers.

"We're on the global stage," Rapinoe said, "with the world's media, and eyeballs and people's attention, all drawn to one place with a collection of incredible athletes from all over the world, who care a lot about what they're doing here in Tokyo in terms of their sport, and who care a lot about a lot of other things."

The British players decided at a team meeting before flying to Japan to perform the gesture that has been featured over the last year at club matches in the Women's Super League in England.

"We felt strongly as a group that we wanted to show support for those affected by discrimination and equality," Britain captain Steph Houghton said after the 2-0 win over Chile. "It was a proud moment because the Chile players took the knee too to show how united we are as sport."

The Chile squad was, however, caught unaware that their opponents were going to take a knee. Once they spotted the kneeling, Chile defender Daniela Pardo did the same, followed by her teammates.

"It was an issue of not being in sync," Chile midfielder Karen Araya said. "We weren't able to communicate properly due to the language. The moment we saw the English taking the knee right away we decided to do the same and of course we are in favor of this type of thing."

Soccer previously shunned any form of activism at matches. But FIFA relaxed its policy last year after players in Europe decided to use matches to protest racial injustice sparked by the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of a white police officer.

FIFA also told referees to apply common sense and to allow players to display T-shirts with messages against racism that previously were banned in soccer, even for matters of social awareness.

The IOC allows gestures of activism - if permitted by that sport's governing body - only before or after the official start of events at the Olympics. The official website of the Olympics made no mention of players taking a knee on Wednesday.

Podium protests are still off-limits, prohibiting a repeat of the raised black-gloved fists of American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Related video:

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Women soccer players take a knee in protest of racism at Tokyo Olympics

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Soccer players like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and others were the first athletes to use the Olympic platform for a display of activism.

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Robert E. Rinehart; Symbolic Resistance and International Response

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Robert E. Rinehart; Symbolic Resistance and International Response

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This is not the first time sports have been a platform to advocate for political change/resistance. During the Cold War, the 1956 Hungarian Revolution was greatly influenced by their national water polo team which established symbolic and real political resistance against Soviet Union Policies. As the people of Hungary were determined to become independent in their fight against the Soviet Union, their water polo team represented more than just the game.

As the Hungarian water polo team beat the Soviet Union's water polo team in the Olympics, the win symbolized the idea that Hungary can stand alone. An athlete on the team even stated, "We had a duty to come to Melbourne and tell the world about our wonderful revolution" (Rinehart, 47). The win even provided the Hungarian people aspirations that they could win in their real battle against the Soviet Union (which they did eventually win). Even on an international scale, the game made fans look into the political struggles and understand what they were fighting for.

By looking into this example, it becomes evident that sport can represent more than just a game, and generate a change that can be reflected in society. Sport can not only influence, but demand change. As a result, the actions taken by athletes (both on the Hungarian team and players who kneel today) demonstrates how sport can influence a society.

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With media reaching different nations, the idea that all athletes can promote change caught on to foreign leagues and sports. Specifically, the Premier League was influenced by the actions of the NFL and followed the idea of kneeling to demonstrate a need for social and political change.

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It's been a regular sight before Premier League and England matches for more than a year, but footballers taking a knee "isn't going to change anything", according to one former Three Lions star.

John Barnes was repeatedly racially abused while playing for Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s - including being pelted with bananas on the pitch - and he believes "football can do nothing to change racism".

"Until we change the perception of the average black person, we will never combat racism," he tells Sky News.

"Any discrimination towards any footballer is a very small, minute part of racial discrimination towards black people.

"Is taking the knee going to change someone who's racially biased?

"They can take the knee as much as they want. Taking the knee isn't going to change anything."

England footballers were jeered by Hungary fans as they knelt before Tuesday night's match at Wembley, which was marred by violence from the away supporters.

Some England supporters booed their own players for taking the knee before the Euro championships earlier this year over apparent opposition to the Black Lives Matter organisation, which has called for the police to be "defunded".

Gareth Southgate's players have repeatedly insisted they are not making a political gesture and they are simply reinforcing the message that racism and discrimination will not be tolerated.

But there have been signs in recent weeks that an increasing number of players are questioning the impact of the gesture, which was introduced to the English game in June 2020.

Outside England's top division, more than a third of Football League clubs are now reported to have stopped kneeling before kick-off.

Meanwhile, Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso is the latest Premier League player to stop taking the knee, saying he believes it is "losing a bit of strength", and opting instead to point to an anti-racism badge on his sleeve.

He followed in the footsteps of Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha who said the gesture was "degrading", and Brentford striker Ivan Toney after he argued players were being "used as puppets".
* So what is the future of the protest and has it achieved its aim in the fight against racism in football?
The boss of Kick It Out, football's anti-racism organisation, admits he's been left frustrated at having to talk about the gesture so often and isn't sure if players will continue with it next season.

"Between now and next August is a long time in football," Tony Burnett tells Sky News.

"I think it has been a talking point... I think we've just missed an opportunity.

"I genuinely don't think a lot of people who are supportive of players taking the knee are really clear about what the issues are, other than online discrimination."

He adds: "Part of my frustration on this is I've spent a lot of time in the last six months - quite rightly - talking about taking the knee.

"Actually what we need to be talking about is racism - where it comes from, how it manifests in our society, how it impacts our game, and what we need to be doing to tackle it. That discussion hasn't been had enough."

Burnett believes some critics of players taking the knee have been "disingenuous" about the reasons for their opposition.

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"I think there's a certain section of our population that would have a problem whatever gesture the players chose," he says.

"I'm not saying for a second that everybody who is against taking the knee is racist.

"What I am saying is there is a sizeable minority who, whatever gesture those players chose to stand up against racism, would not have been appropriate (for them), because they don't want to see any activity standing up against things that a lot of us just find abhorrent.

"I think the people who are saying this is politically motivated, I think they are the ones who are disingenuous because I've never heard a player say anything about politics when it comes to this."
* 'Football can do nothing to change racism. End of story'
Barnes - who has written a new book called The Uncomfortable Truth About Racism - believes the "very basic point" of taking the knee has been lost and compared it to the Me Too movement.

He says: "The Me Too movement was started by a woman called Tarana Burke many years ago about the sexual abuse that young black girls in inner cities were going through.

"Then it was hijacked by a group of women in Hollywood and elite women to then talk about Harvey Weinstein and other people.

"Now people think the Me Too movement is about Hollywood actors or women in the public eye who are being sexually abused and the message is now lost and forgotten about... just like taking the knee is.

"Taking the knee is now talking about Marxism and should they take a knee, and defunding the police - which is not what it's about.

"It's just about the very basic point of black lives mattering."

Barnes believes the debate over taking the knee has distracted from discussing "real change" to tackle racism.

"Football can do nothing to change racism. End of story," he says.

"The whole idea of things changing because Raheem Sterling scores goals and he's going to influence people's thoughts is ridiculous.

"At the moment we still believe that black people, gay people, women, aren't as worthy as white middle class men.

"Once we get rid of that - that's not to say we'll have equality because we won't, because that's the environment we live in - but it will be fairer in terms of the discrimination.

"We live in a capitalist environment where the majority have to be discriminated against by the minority - that's what it is."
* 'Some of the institutions within football have got to change'
Burnett says he understands why some players feel taking the knee has "served its purpose" and he wants to see "tangible change" this season to tackle discrimination in football.

He says around 30% of elite footballers are from black backgrounds but the number of black people in coaching, management and other senior roles "is nowhere near enough".

"Either we say black and Asian coaches aren't as talented or it's not a meritocracy and they're not getting the opportunity to step into those roles. I'm absolutely certain it's the latter," Burnett tells Sky News.

"Some of the institutions within football have got to change. Refereeing for example - there is one black referee in the top four divisions of English football.

"We can all remember Uriah Rennie because he was the last prominent black person that refereed and he's been retired for 15 years.

"There are four black or Asian referees in the top seven leagues in England. That is nowhere near representative of the UK population.

"We've got to see some of those numbers move before people really start believing the rhetoric and the platitudes.

"There's been a lot of platitudes in the last 18 months. I get the fact that actually that for some, the knee has kind of served its purpose - we've got to see the action now."

Meanwhile, Barnes has called for more footballers to follow the example of Marcus Rashford whose campaign for free meals for underprivileged children during the school holidays forced the government into a U-turn.

"He used his platform to talk about people less fortunate than himself," Barnes says.

"If more elite people were to do that, instead of saying we need more black managers and we need more black people in the boardroom, imagine what could be done to really affect change for kids in the inner cities or women or gay people."

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Why increasing number of footballers have stopped taking the knee

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John Barnes tells Sky News he believes "football can do nothing to change racism" and there have been signs that an increasing number of players are questioning the impact of taking the knee. So what is the future of the protest and has it achieved its aim?

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Media making the BLM movement International

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Media making the BLM movement International

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With media being tied to sport, the message Colin Kapernick and others promoted through the NFL as a medium gained popularity. Due to various forms of communication via the internet, the idea of using sport as a medium to advocate for political and social change took international recognition.

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Advocacy on social media has played a major role in the Black Lives Matter movement, which sparked a wave of social media posts intended to inform the public through platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Though many of these posts are filled with unreliable information, they are becoming increasingly significant in social justice movements as a way to easily disseminate information to younger audiences.

According to a Pew Research Center poll, social media helps many people, particularly marginalized groups, become more involved in politics and social justice movements. It's a place where voices that may be silenced in everyday life are amplified. According to the study, around half of Black social media users said they value their social media accounts as a place to express their political views or discuss issues that they value, compared to only about a third of white social media users.

"Social media became a good platform for advocacy when there started to be stories and highlights for you to really capitalize on what your thoughts are and really speak your voice," Lynbrook Class of 2020 alumna Amanda Zhu said.

Amid a country shaken by both protests and a pandemic, many social media accounts transitioned from platforms about themselves to platforms about recognizing others. For many teens in this community, it is the first step in learning about current events or social justice issues.

Sophomore Avishi Reddy said that she was aware of cultural appropriation before, but learned more about it on Instagram. She decided not to put her hair in protective styles typical of Black hair culture such as box braids or cornrows after educating herself on the topic.

"[I learned that] slaves, when they were on plantations here in the U.S., would braid patterns into their hair, and these were their escape routes - this is how they survived in the past," she said. "Even if it's with good intentions, it wouldn't be right for me to just steal that without experiencing what the real story was."

However, many social media posts that claim to be informative oversimplify complicated issues. These posts prioritize consumable graphics over unbiased and credible information. It is common to whittle down complicated topics into a few aesthetically-pleasing bullet points or tweak information to make it more eye-catching to the user.

"[I saw a] post about an African American boy who had been killed by the police and I initially believed it, but then when I looked at the comments, a lot of people were saying that it was fake," said sophomore Brian Ling. "When I searched it up it turned out that it was [actually] a murder [by someone who wasn't the police]."

In a world where clicks and attention equal fame and revenue, it is no surprise that some advocacy posts on social media prioritize likes and views. Many social media accounts only aim to grab people's attention, which can lead to the spread of information that has been taken out of context or is downright false.

As social media advocacy becomes increasingly common, many people feel pressured to support movements only because the people around them are doing so. Often, people who only advocate to avoid accusations of being racist or homophobic repost on social media without taking the time to evaluate the information they are spreading. This lack of fact-checking can cause false information to spread even further.

Staying quiet on social media doesn't directly translate to not caring about what's going on in the world. What happened to uncomfortable conversations with relatives? Or late night discussions with friends?

"Not everyone has to say something on social media," said junior Talia Chen. "Someone could still be donating and signing petitions."

Taking action by signing a petition can sometimes be more impactful than posting on social media because it directly helps the cause. Being active on social media does not equate to caring about a movement.

The counterproductive hashtag #blackouttuesday, a blatant example of performative activism, was an idea with good intentions that quickly turned disastrous. On June 2, millions of Instagram users posted a black square in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, but it only made things worse-the sudden influx of posts took up valuable space in otherwise useful hashtags such as #blacklivesmatter on Instagram, drowning out important information about petitions and protests.

In a matter of hours, black squares with the caption #blackouttuesday became normalized to a point where they became a mere trend, providing no impact at all.

"A black square isn't going to change the system," said sophomore Vikram Thirumaran. "A black square isn't going to do anything."

But this isn't to say everyone should stop posting about social issues that matter to them or no longer use people's Instagram stories as a source of news. Spending hours Googling every piece of information isn't necessary, either. Doing something as simple as taking a second to check the comments of a post can give a reader a good sense of whether the news is trustworthy or not.

Advocacy through social media is not going to go away any time soon. By being careful to not spread misleading information, while still advocating for issues we care about, we can make social media a valuable tool to create a long lasting impact.

"In social media, there's two sides of the coin," Thirumaran said. "On one hand, it spreads awareness; it spreads positivity. At the same time, there's people who take advantage of the good parts [by] spreading misleading [information] and hate. But I feel like if we focus on the good aspects of [social media], then we can make the best out of it."

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Advocacy on social media has played a major role in the Black Lives Matter movement, which sparked a wave of social media posts intended to inform the public through platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Though many of these posts are filled with unreliable information, they are becoming increasingly significant in social justice movements...

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Not only did NFL players take action but other American leagues such as the NBA took a political and social stand. They even found different ways to make their ideas heard, utilizing their cloths and merchandise to advocate against police brutality and demand equality for all.

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In a contest that was coming down to the wire, it was only natural to turn to an athlete who was famous for coming through in the clutch. The competition was the 1990 Senate race in North Carolina, a heated, racially divisive match between Harvey Gantt, a Democrat and the first African American mayor of Charlotte, and the longtime Republican incumbent, Jesse Helms, a pillar of the ultraconservative wing of the party.

A famously staunch segregationist, Mr. Helms had strongly opposed the movement to create a national holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., and some of his TV ads during the campaign had played to white racial resentment. One of them showed a close-up of a pair of white hands crumpling up a job applicant's rejection letter, with a voice-over saying the person had lost out on the position to a less-qualified African American because of racial quotas in hiring.

In the final weeks of the campaign, polls showed that the underdog Mr. Gantt had a realistic chance of unseating Mr. Helms, and it was obvious that an endorsement from Michael Jordan, the former University of North Carolina basketball star who had gone on to international fame with the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association, might put Mr. Gantt over the top. But when asked to come out publicly in favor of the Democrat, Mr. Jordan declined. He had become a successful Nike pitchman, making millions by appearing in commercials and print ads that had sent the sales of the company's athletic gear soaring. It wouldn't be prudent to support Mr. Gantt and risk alienating Mr. Helms' supporters, Mr. Jordan said, because "Republicans buy sneakers, too."

There is no telling whether Mr. Jordan's endorsement would have made the difference in the election, which Mr. Gantt lost by about 107,000 votes. But for years to come, those four words from Mr. Jordan - which he later insisted he said merely as a joke - would cement the perception of athletes as rich celebrities more interested in their pocketbooks than politics, afraid to support candidates or wade into issues of race or culture.

Gone were the politically and socially conscious athletes of the 1960s and '70s, when Muhammad Ali was stripped of his boxing title because he refused to serve in the Vietnam War after being drafted into the Army, and John Carlos and Tommie Smith became pariahs for raising their fists in a Black Power salute on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Athletes of the 1990s and 2000s, the thinking went, were too wealthy to care about life beyond their gated mansions. There was too much money at stake for sports stars to risk driving away potential customers or sponsors by choosing sides in any public debates.

If that perception was ever accurate - and in truth, it was always at least somewhat exaggerated - it certainly isn't any longer. There has been a resurgence of athletic activism in America, particularly by Black athletes, not seen since those turbulent days of the civil rights and Vietnam War eras.

The first stirrings of the movement came in 2010, after the killing of Trayvon Martin, an African American teenager who was followed and ultimately shot in Sanford, Florida, by a neighborhood watch member who found him suspicious even though he was merely walking home from the store. As a form of protest, the Miami Heat of the NBA took a team photo with every player wearing a hoodie similar to the one Trayvon was wearing when he was shot, their way of commenting on the injustice of a Black teen being considered dangerous merely for wearing a hooded jacket.

But it was Colin Kaepernick's kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, in protest of police shootings of African Americans, that appears to have triggered the full reawakening of athletes' social conscience. "That was the moment where I said, I don't want to just tweet. I don't want to just wear a T-shirt with some words of protest," says Malcolm Jenkins, a New Orleans Saints defensive back who co-founded the Players Coalition, an organization of National Football League players devoted to social causes, including racial inequities in the criminal justice system. "I want to do something that truly makes a difference."

Hundreds of players clearly feel the same way. Athletes in nearly every sport have stepped forward in a variety of ways to address what they consider to be social injustices, including but not limited to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police. Current and former NBA players like Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Jackson, and Damian Lillard marched in protests following the Floyd killing, in which a Minneapolis police officer held him down with a knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Chris Paul and LeBron James spearheaded efforts to get out the vote before the presidential election, particularly among young African Americans.

Women's National Basketball Association players formed a Social Justice Council in June and partnered with the Say Her Name campaign to dedicate their season to Ms. Taylor. One of the league's biggest stars, Maya Moore, stepped away from the sport indefinitely last year to help overturn the conviction of Jonathan Irons, who had spent 22 years in prison on a burglary and assault conviction. Mr. Irons was released in July and he and Ms. Moore, now a married couple, are working to earn the release of other wrongly convicted prisoners.

Defensive lineman Michael Bennett, a 13-year NFL veteran, retired from football in July in order to devote more time to social justice efforts, including working with Athletes for Impact, a group that encourages sports figures to get involved with worthy causes. "The idea is that not every athlete has to be another Colin Kaepernick," Mr. Bennett says. "There are any number of ways, big and small, for athletes to bring about change in their communities."

The activism goes beyond the ceremonial. Mr. James, the Los Angeles Lakers star, joined with other current and former NBA and WNBA players, including Skylar Diggins-Smith, Trae Young, and Jalen Rose, to start More Than a Vote, an organization aimed at inspiring more African Americans to register and cast their ballot in the presidential election.

These new athlete-activists "are courageous, high-profile players who have access to millions of people with a push of the button thanks to social media," says Etan Thomas, a former NBA player and author of the book "We Matter: Athletes and Activism." "They are ready and willing to risk fame, fortune, and endorsements, and to endure criticism to stand up for what they believe in."

Turning points

A variety of factors have contributed to the rise in athletes' willingness to become politically active. Like many Americans, they have been motivated to push back against the conservative policies of the Trump administration and the inflammatory rhetoric of the president, who said that NFL players who refused to stand for the anthem should be kicked out of the league.

Days after President Donald Trump made those comments in a December 2017 speech, tight end Julius Thomas knelt during the anthem for the first time. "After I heard the president's comments, it really struck me," Mr. Thomas told CNN. "I was truly hurt. I don't think a lot of people know what it feels like to wake up in this country and not feel equal."

Player protests and other forms of activism have also been met with greater public acceptance than they were decades ago, which may be partly due to the changing demographics of the country. The U.S. population is more ethnically and racially diverse than the one Mr. Ali and others dealt with generations ago. "An audience that includes more people of color and other groups who know what it is to be on the margins is going to be more receptive to protest and activism," says sociologist Harry Edwards, a longtime political activist who has worked with scores of athletes on social justice causes.

With that public acceptance has come support from the athletes' teams and leagues, which once resisted and sometimes even punished player protests. In 1996, Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf refused to stand for the national anthem before games, saying that the American flag was a symbol of oppression and that the United States had a long history of tyranny. The NBA suspended him without pay for a game, costing him more than $31,000. But that was clearly another era. When the league resumed play in August after delaying the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, not only did most of the players take a knee during the anthem as a form of protest with the league's blessing, but the courts had "Black Lives Matter" painted on them. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also allowed the players to have league-approved phrases on the back of their uniforms, including "How many more?," "Equality," and "Respect Us."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had offered little support of Mr. Kaepernick after the quarterback began protesting, made a full reversal in August, offering a public apology to him and saying, "I wish we had listened earlier, Kap, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to."

The National Collegiate Athletic Association also allowed players to wear phrases promoting social justice on their helmets, and Major League Baseball gave its approval to teams stenciling "Black Lives Matter" on their home fields, as well as providing players with BLM T-shirts to wear during batting practice. When the baseball season began after a four-month break for the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of players, including All-Stars Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, knelt during the national anthem, with the league's blessing.

Players have sometimes tried to take action with fully planned protests, and sometimes with impromptu moves driven by the emotion of the moment. For instance, less than an hour before their NBA playoff game against the Orlando Magic in August, the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to play, in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the day before. Within a few hours teams followed their lead, forcing the postponement of eight playoff games over two days. The same day, the New York Mets and Miami Marlins made a statement by taking the field for their game, then walking off and placing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt over home plate as they left.

From backlash to endorsements

Although most of the high-profile athletes who have taken political stands have done so in support of liberal causes and politicians, some well-known sports figures have stepped forward on the right, as well. Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus posted a lengthy letter of support for President Trump on Twitter 10 days before the election, and former NFL quarterback Jay Cutler retweeted it with his own message that said, "Sign me up." Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden was hospitalized for a week after contracting COVID-19 in October, but made it clear that his confidence in the president was unshaken. After his release from the hospital, he released a letter saying that one of the motivating factors in his recovery was that he "wanted to be around to vote for President Trump."

But most of the athletes who have taken a political stand have done so for more liberal politicians and causes. In some rare cases, like Mr. Kaepernick's, they have found that their activism can make them more, rather than less, attractive to corporate America. Even though he hasn't played in an NFL game since 2017, Mr. Kaepernick was popular enough that Nike signed him to a multimillion-dollar deal last year that included Kaepernick-branded shoes and apparel, as well as an ad campaign that kicked off last fall, complete with a national TV spot that showed images of him and other athletes protesting. "Believe in something," the tag line said, "even if it means sacrificing everything."

The greater support and acceptance doesn't mean that athletes are now free of criticism for their activism. In fact, some detractors now charge that players are becoming more politically involved in order to raise their profile and their off-field income. "Told y'all from Day One this was about money," sports columnist Jason Whitlock tweeted the day after Mr. Kaepernick's new Nike deal was announced. "All of it."

It is hard to imagine, though, that Mr. Kaepernick could have foreseen that his protest would lead to financial gain, not when he was initially vilified by much of the public and unable to get a contract offer from a single NFL team after he left San Francisco.

In general, players still face enough backlash that being politically active is no easy decision. They open themselves up to bashing by President Trump or being told to "shut up and dribble," as Fox News television host Laura Ingraham advised Mr. James and Kevin Durant after they criticized the president in a TV interview.

A fourth wave

That sort of criticism is nothing new. There is a long history of Black athletes who have tried to make a social impact being met with harsh resistance. Dr. Edwards, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, frames the history of athletes' activism in terms of "waves."

In the first wave he includes athletes of the 1920s and '30s, such as boxers Jack Johnson and Joe Louis and track star Jesse Owens, who represented the fight to establish Black athletes as legitimate in the eyes of white fans. Post-World War II players like Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby (baseball), Kenny Washington (football), and Chuck Cooper (basketball) broke color lines in their respective sports, not only bringing about desegregation in athletics but helping to prime the pump for the civil rights movement.

The third wave encompasses the Black Power and civil rights movements of the 1960s when athletes like Mr. Ali, football's Jim Brown, and NBA star Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics spoke out defiantly about racism and social justice in America. It earned them condemnation and a reputation as angry Black men in many circles. It may have been the criticism those athletes received that made their successors, players like Mr. Jordan, less willing to engage in controversial issues.

In Dr. Edward's view, the U.S. is now in the midst of a fourth wave in which athletes are bringing their financial independence and social influence to bear. Will the movement last? Will it make a permanent impact on the political future of the country? That's as hard to forecast as whether a college superstar will be successful in the pros. Circumstances change, distractions arise, news cycles move on to the next headline.

Yet the climate for athletic activism has certainly never been more welcoming. There may not be many team owners and league executives hoisting protest banners, but their players' passion appears to have motivated them to become more engaged civically and politically than ever before. One example of that is the number of stadiums, arenas, and athletic facilities that teams made available to be COVID-19 testing places and polling places for the November election.

It's unlikely this wave of political involvement will subside anytime soon. This generation of professional players is the wealthiest in history, which means they have the financial security to continue their efforts even if it means some reduction in earning potential. Beyond that, they have discovered that their voices can make change, however incremental.

They will also be inspired to push on because they can see the impact they are having on an individual level. Consider how Emerald Snipes, daughter of Eric Garner, who died after being locked in a chokehold by police in New York, reacted when she saw various NBA players wearing "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts over their uniforms in honor of her father as they warmed up for their games.

As Etan Thomas quoted her in his book on athlete activism: "I was completely overwhelmed because ... I'm just this regular person from New York and you want to support me? Going against the dress code of your job, risking your livelihood, how you support your family and you're risking all of that for my father? I was so thankful to them for doing that because I'm sure there were people telling them not to, that it would be bad for their image or that it may upset their fan base or affect their endorsements or whether a team would pick them up the following season. In spite of all that, they made this public statement for my father and words cannot express how thankful I am."

It is true that political activism runs in cycles, and athletes may not maintain their current level of engagement indefinitely. But each cycle of voices makes it easier for the next one to be heard.

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Athletes have taken social stands before. Why this time is different.

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In a contest that was coming down to the wire, it was only natural to turn to an athlete who was famous for coming through in the clutch. The competition was the 1990 Senate race in North Carolina, a heated, racially divisive match between Harvey Gantt, a Democrat and the first African American mayor of Charlotte, and the longtime Republican incumbent, Jesse Helms, a pillar of the ultraconservative wing of the party.

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The public began staging protests soon after. With the support from popular athletes, many people were promoted to take action in their own political and social protests.

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thousands around the world protest against george floyd's death in global display of solidarity - cnn

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Thousands around the world protest George Floyd's death in global display of solidarity

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Protesters have marched in the US for six consecutive nights over the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. Their anger over the killing of the unarmed black man has now spread worldwide.

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The action of kneeling came back in 2020 by another tragedy of racial police brutality. A police officer was recorded using unsanctioned actions to detain an individual of color. Consequently, the individual, George Floyd, died to these police officers who did not provide equal care for the life of another person of color

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Remembering George Floyd: Devoted father, ‘gentle giant’

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Friends and relatives pay tribute to the Black man who suffocated under the knee of a white policeman in Minneapolis.

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September 1, 2016; the action of kneeling

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September 1, 2016; the action of kneeling

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Football player Colin Kapernick began the kneeling movement in protest of racial police brutality. His actions forced fans of the game to hear his message.

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Kneeling, Fiercely Debated in the N.F.L., Resonates in Protests (Published 2020)

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Some demonstrators, and in some cases the police, have paused to kneel, recalling the manner of George Floyd’s death and the gesture by Colin Kaepernick.

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The Black Lives Matter Movement in sports illustrates how athletes are able to use their voice and status to spark discussions of change in societies views of racial equality and systemic racism. Currently, sports are being used as platforms for athletes to push for political and social change in today's age.

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Photos from Sunday's anthem protests

All eyes were on NFL sidelines Sunday, a couple of days after President Donald Trump strongly criticized players who have been protesting during the national anthem.

Many players and coaches from across the league - and some team owners, too - came together during pregame ceremonies, locking arms or putting their hands on each other's shoulders. Some players kneeled, continuing the silent protest started last season by Colin Kaepernick, or raised a fist. Some sat on the bench.

"What you just saw was a variety of responses with the theme of unity," an NFL front office source told CNN. "All across the league, owners, coaches and players came together to decide what was best for them."

Produced by Brett Roegiers and Kyle Almond

Top photo: John Leyba/The Denver Post/Getty Images