Hey fam! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe out there. This will be my first piece that branches out from fantasy football. I am nervous, but, given the events that occurred in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, I have a lot on my mind and on my heart. Full transparency, we are going to get "political" here. However, I want to challenge you to stick with me, regardless of your political views. I have friends and family members who's political views do not align with mine, and that is fine. What is NOT fine, however is how quickly we have seen the line between political identity and humanity fade into the ether.
When this happens, our moral compass no longer has a true north, rather the needle can lead us in harmful directions. Harmful to ourselves & to others.
I do not know how this article is going to play out. If you know me or have followed me online, @ZackFFB, for any amount of time, you know that I have been outspoken on issues in the past, obviously that is not going to change. I have seen a flag going around that bears a quote, I do not know the origin of the quote, but it says: Do Good Recklessly. This really resonated with me, I am not here to define what your "good" should be, but I want to encourage you to user your voice and any platform you have to pursue good, and pursue it recklessly.
Issues of social justice have been present on my mind and on my heart stemming back to a conversation I had in 2016, right after Donald Trump won the presidential election. I was talking with a friend of mine who happens to be black. She expressed genuine fear to me. At the time, me & my privilege did not understand, politics have never directly impacted my life. I was naïve, dismissive and insensitive. I think about this conversation to this very day. Fast forward to August 12, 2017, the Charlottesville, VA protest. At that moment it became alarmingly clear exactly why my friend was petrified for her future.
My hope is not to offend anyone, just to share my perspective on some of the issues facing our country, and discuss how they pertain to the sports industry, as this is a topic that I am deeply passionate about. Again, these thoughts are my own, and it is my hope that even if you disagree, that there can be a level of mutual respect that can be maintained.
Jan. 6, 2021
Let's start with January 6th. Less than a week into 2021, shit has already hit the fan. Like many of you, I was glued to the news or Twitter, seeking real time updates of one of the most unprecedented events of my life time (crazy to say just a week out of the hell that was 2020). In the early afternoon on January 6th, an insurrection, sparked by the rhetoric of Donald Trump, took place. What started as a protest against election results (again fueled by the rhetoric of Donald Trump) quickly turned into an all out siege led by some of his most radical followers.
Photo: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images
This all felt like it was straight out of a movie. I was literally watching a show on Netflix the other day where this particular show dramatized this exact kind of event playing out in Iran, because this would never happen in America, right? The images, videos and accounts from inside of the Capitol Building were haunting, and while the events themselves were egregious, even more egregious (to me) was the stark contrast that we saw in the treatment of these violent, radicalized, right wing, mostly white individuals vs. the excessive shows of force & intimidation at Black Lives Matter protests across the nation in the wake of the murder of George Floyd back in May of 2020.
Photo: skysports.com
George Floyd was heinously killed by Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020. Floyd was detained for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. This detainment, for a counterfeit $20, turned deadly when Chauvin buried his knee in the neck of a hand-cuffed George Floyd for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Floyd died at the scene, and his death sparked a civil rights movement that rocked the world. George Floyd is one of countless black men or women who's death can be directly linked to excessive force being used by the police, ya know, the ones who are there to "serve and protect". Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Botham Jean, Philando Castile, Janisha Fonville, the list goes on.. and on....... and on. Know their names.
I had the opportunity to march in a Black Lives Matter march in Muncie, IN. Thankfully, the rally I attended remained peaceful, as did hundreds of other rallies across the nation. As many of us saw, this was not always the case. These rallies against police brutality just so happened to feature countless instances of horrific police brutality. Police worked these rallies decked out in riot gear from head to toe, armed with shields, batons, mace, tear gas and more. They even used their vehicles as weapons, intentionally driving into crowds. They were expecting violence. Contrast the police presence at BLM rallies to the police presence at the Capitol Building insurrection. There is literally video evidence of 4 police officers (NOT in riot gear) attempting, and failing, to fend off a crowd of hundreds of conspiratorial hot heads as they began their attempt to rush the Capitol Building. Back the blue, am I right?
Photo: Jordan Guskey / Star Press
Were the BLM rallies perfect? No. Do I condone the rioting and looting that took place? No. Do I understand and acknowledge that that vast majority of the violence, rioting and looting was incited by bad-faith actors in an attempt to further smear the BLM movement? Yes.
For those desperately seeking to exploit the BLM protests as a means to legitimize the barrage on the Capitol Building let's get some things straight:
The BLM protests were the culmination of:
Hundreds of years of systemic racism & oppression, dating all the way back to slavery
Yet another unjust murder of a black man or woman at the hands of the police
The insurrection on the Capitol Building was quite literally the largest, most violent tantrum in American history... because Donald Trump lost an election
Lost... nothing was stolen, no matter how hard you want to believe that lie
There were pipe bombs found at the scene
Elected Officials, Journalists and others were subject to death threats
These protests are not the same because these causes are not the same. The BLM protests, like it or not, have led to tangible change. Policy changes. Continued conversations. Progress. Steps in the right direction. The debacle at the Capitol Building will go down in history as one of America's darkest days. A day where her own citizens attempted a coup to overthrow American democracy in favor of a narcissistic, fascist, racist, sexist, xenophobic, wanna-be dictator, amongst other things. The BLM protests were rooted in a dire need for equality and systemic change in this nation so we can ALL be better. The Capitol Building raid was rooted in denial and delusion, a desperate attempt to send America spiraling downwards. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Photo: Twitter
Okay, let's talk sports...
2020 taught many of us the importance of sports. Sports instill a sense of normalcy in our lives. Some people's identities are so deeply rooted in fandom for their favorite team that there are legitimate emotional reactions to wins, losses, personnel changes, etc. I don't know about you, but as a massive sports fan myself, the period of time without sports in 2020 was completely bizarre to me, it just felt like something was missing. I'm sure I was not alone in that feeling.
While we were in the midst if a hiatus from sports, a series of events took place that climaxed when George Floyd was murdered. The 2020 social justice movement took off, and it gained momentum like nothing I have ever seen before in my lifetime. Actions were being taken, voices were being heard. Some of the loudest voices in the pursuit of lasting social justice reforms have been the voices of athletes. Both men & women from multiple different sports. But with any movement, resistance is to be expected.
Photo: yourstory.com
The common theme we see with athletes attempting to use their platform is that they are met with immense resistance. "Stick to sports", "Stay in your lane", "Shut up and dribble", and so on. You see, to so many of us, athletes are nothing more than our entertainment. It is beyond time to boot that ideology to the fucking moon. Their respective sport is not WHO these men and women are. It is WHAT they do. These men and women are fathers & mothers, sons & daughters, brothers & sisters, activists, advocates and most importantly... human.
Photo: news.sky.com
Athletes have worked their entire lives to reach the pinnacle of their sport. They are the top 1% at their craft. There are countless athletes who support a plethora of amazing causes and foundations. In many ways, athletes do more work for their communities than most elected officials do (Lebron James is literally paying to send an entire school, that HE built in Akron, Ohio, to college... for free). Yet we minimize athletes to the thing that they do for our entertainment.
Photo: cincinnati.com
Justin Jefferson said it beautifully on Twitter:
Stop saying stick to football like that’s our only purpose on this earth. We (football players) have every right to speak on whatever we feel no matter the situation. - @Jjettas
Jefferson's words obviously transcend football. There are men and women from all sports that have been told to keep their opinions to themselves on various issues, both big and small. It is long past time that we all start treating these men and women as human beings, not objects whose singular purpose in life is to entertain us.
Photo: sportscasting.com
I applaud any and all athletes who choose to use their platforms to bring about positive change in their communities, as well as this nation. Lord knows we need it. As sports fans, we should marvel at the amazing, superhuman feats that our favorite athletes are capable of. As human beings, we should see to listen, to understand, and to support any & all efforts to make our communities, our states, and our country the best that it can be. There is simply no denying that athletes fuel a LOT of efforts to do exactly that.
If you've made it this far, thank you. Also, if you've made it this far, you likely agree with most of the things I have said in this article. If you do agree, please continue to advocate for the voices of ALL to be heard, whether we like what they have to say or not. Advocating for a person to keep their opinion to themselves solely based their profession is extremely closed minded, and extremely hypocritical.
My hope, above all else, is that more voices will lead to more dialogue. And more dialogue will lead to more relationships. And relationships will lead to more advocacy for those who suffer from any form of oppression. In our pursuit to end marginalization & oppression, we must do good recklessly.
Stay classy,
Zack