Why are we so mad about football?
People are angry about Colin Kaepernick. They just don鈥檛 agree on why.
Julie Page Morgan, from Arkansas, says she doesn鈥檛 watch the National Football League anymore in part because of the 鈥渟ick disrespect鈥� of players taking a knee or refusing to stand during the national anthem. Mr. Kaepernick鈥檚 decision to begin this trend last year was a publicity stunt, she says.
鈥淗e said he did it to show 鈥榮olidarity鈥� with oppressed individuals in America,鈥� she writes in an email. 鈥淣o, he did it so they鈥檇 like him again. He hoped minorities would besiege his team鈥檚 owners to let him start as quarterback again despite his lack of talent.鈥�
And the players now following Kaepernick鈥檚 lead? 鈥淎ll to garner attention to themselves, so they could be perceived as identifying with poor blacks in America,鈥� she says.
Yet last week, hundreds of people protested outside the NFL鈥檚 New York offices in support of the quarterback, who has been out of a job since the end of last season.聽Many critics have accused teams and owners of colluding against him because of his politics. More than 175,000 people have signed a change.org聽聽pledging to boycott the league if Kaepernick doesn鈥檛 play this season.
鈥淚t is obvious ... that Colin Kaepernick is qualified to be at least an NFL backup,鈥� longtime fan Jordan Starck writes in an open letter to the NFL, shared with 海角大神. 鈥淭he absurdity with which clubs like the Ravens point to his political beliefs as a significant factor in his unemployment.鈥�
For a league that goes to enormous lengths to enforce conformity and limit controversy 鈥� with rules governing everything from touchdown celebrations to shoelace color 鈥� the Kaepernick situation is a catastrophe. But it is not the only one. From domestic abuse to concerns over concussions, the NFL is increasingly being sucked into uncomfortable cultural territory.
On one hand, it鈥檚 a testament to the game鈥檚 pervasiveness in American life. But at a time when the country is struggling to overcome divisiveness, the NFL faces a serious challenge. To this point, it has been able to maintain its preeminent place in American sports. But there some signs that controversies might be catching up to the league 鈥� and this season is shaping up to the most fraught in years, if not decades.
鈥淭he NFL and football is always political because different groups are always trying to shape different meanings from the league,鈥� says Tom Oates, a media studies professor at the University of Iowa and the author of the book 鈥淔ootball and Manliness.鈥� 鈥淩ight now it鈥檚 easy to see because politics feel particularly urgent to people.鈥�
Dave Gowin, a 49ers fan, just wants the players to play football.
鈥淭he NFL is a sport that people pay a lot of money to attend and support,鈥� he says. 鈥淸They] should not be subject to the players political views that may offend them.鈥�
Many fans agree with him. Polls last year showed that a majority of Americans disapproved of Kaepernick鈥檚 protests. But others see things differently. Just as there has been a backlash against overt politics among players, there is a backlash against what are seen as the more inhuman aspects of the game.
Zach Furness, whose late father played and coached for the Pittsburgh Steelers, says when he sees players collide on the field, 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 watching permanent head injuries happen in real time.鈥�
The concussion issue is already having long-term consequences for the game. Since 2009, participation in tackle football among 6- to 12-year-old boys has dropped 20 percent, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
So, too, there is unease about players鈥� behavior off the field 鈥� particularly with regard to the treatment of women.
Yet football鈥檚 cultural pull has so far proved stronger.
When Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned to the field after having a rape charge dropped against him in 2010, 鈥渢here were all these little girls wearing pink Roethlisberger jerseys,鈥� notes Danielle Coombs, a professor at Kent State who researches football鈥檚 female fan base. 鈥淚t was completely nuts. But you want to believe the best in your heroes.鈥�
Even Mr. Furness, who worries about concussions, acknowledges 鈥渢here鈥檚 still that part of me that has been acculturated into football.鈥�
For many, 鈥渇ootball is a part of your family traditions,鈥� says Professor Coombs. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a heritage thing, we pass it on to our children. [Abandoning that] feels like turning your back on something that鈥檚 really important to you. We too often compare sports and religion, but it鈥檚 like turning your back on the Catholic Church. The psychology of it is similar.鈥�
Adds Professor Oates of Iowa: 鈥淚f not watching means passing up an opportunity to catch up with friends or hang out with your dad, it鈥檚 hard to pass that up.鈥�
The NFL鈥檚 popularity has proven resilient. The ratings for this year鈥檚 Super Bowl were better than average. But last year, regular season ratings took took a dip before growing stronger as the season wore on. Though some attribute the decline to a backlash against Kaepernick鈥檚 protests, the reasons for the decline are unclear. But they show potential vulnerability at a time of upheaval.
Mr. Starck, who wrote the protest letter to the NFL, has rooted for the Vikings since he was 8. He describes himself as 鈥渢he fan whose primary TV station is NFL Network, who subscribes to GamePass to evaluate our roster in the offseason, who researches college players in preparation for the draft,... who manages fantasy leagues, who buys the new Madden [football video game] each August.鈥�
But recently, he鈥檚 found the league鈥檚 handling of things such as the Kaepernick issue and the inherent violence of the game hard to swallow. He鈥檚 also grown increasingly uncomfortable with what he sees as the racial power imbalance of the NFL, with a player base that is 70 percent black and an ownership and coaching fraternity that is overwhelming white.
That perception, or the rejection of it, is at the heart of what divides people on Kaepernick, and it reflects larger debates around Black Lives Matter and recent protests, says Oates. To those who back the owners, the league is a business, not a platform for cultural commentary. To those who back the players, there is an apparent double-standard.
鈥淥wners make collective political statements all the time, in the league鈥檚 connections to the military, the expressions of nationalism. It doesn鈥檛 appear political in the same way as when a player uses his position to make a statement,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he Kaepernick outrage is a reflection of those power dynamics. In the eyes of many fans, he should have a prerogative in the same ways the owners do.鈥� 聽
The question for this year is how much players will push that envelope. 鈥淚 think players, there will be a spotlight on them in such a way that people who want to raise larger social concerns can do so,鈥� says Furness, who co-edited a collection of academic essays on the NFL with Oates.
For his part, Starck says he鈥檚 done with football until Kaepernick gets a job.聽
