Speak Up or Sit Down

realclimatescience.com

Who knew taking a seat could cause so much controversy?  It was the topic of discussion for much of the beginning of the NFL season when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Col  Many disagreed with the movement, while other players in the league joined Kaepernick and took a knee. 

in Kaepernick sat during the National Anthem to protest the oppression of people of color in our country.

This became a hot-button issue and made others question the coverage of other forms of deviance within the sport industry.  Our class discussions between November 8^th and 10^th focused on deviance in sport, and while it is a clear problem in society many athletes would rather stay quiet.  Sitting for the National Anthem seemed to bring strong reactions out of players across the league… but why didn’t we see the same reactions after the multiple domestic violence issues within the NFL?

democratandchronical.com

In class we discussed how felony rates among adult athletes are a problem, especially domestic violence.  NFL players arrest rates relative to the national average for men ages 25-29 for domestic violence is at 55%, yet this article from ESPNW explains how players tend to keep quiet on this issue.   Sarah Spain writes about how players job security plays a big part in why players don’t take an action against domestic violence, however many players were quick to make a statement about Kaepernick’s movement. 

The more players that decide not to talk about the domestic violence problem in America, the more deviance we will see in sports today.  This issue has been haunting the NFL for far too long and it’s about time that players speak up, rather than take a knee.

http://www.espn.com/espnw/voices/article/17424136/said-sarah-spain-importance-speaking-out