ABSTRACT

This chapter explores key moments in today’s sports activism. Importantly, the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag/words itself not only signifies a new media and new mantra for an old movement, but is also a national network founded by three women of color. The National Football League (NFL), which is 100 percent male and covered by a sports media which is 90 percent male and 90 percent white, has serious deficits as a reliable activist model for change. No NFL player has ever explicitly or symbolically referenced the police deaths of any women. Nor has any outspoken white NFL star reflected white solidarity seen at Ferguson and other protests. The most significant case of sports activism in 2015 came from the University of Missouri Football team who threatened to boycott a game. The potential one million cost to the University of sitting out the game ultimately forced the resignation of University President.