The Next Revolution


The Next Revolution

            One of the unexpected dramas resulting from the COVID pandemic is America’s changing relationship with sports.  There was a daily obsession with watching sporting events, and its current absence has created a significant void in daily routines. Americans and corporate America cannot live without their sports. Professional leagues and NCAA sports have become billion dollar enterprises.  Sports commerce is tied to industries including publishing, television and other media; merchandizing; gameplay; and betting.  Its relationship to the larger world is overwhelming.
When the pandemic hit, the Chiefs magical NFL season was over, the MLS was on its season break, MLB was in Spring Training, and the PGA and NASCAR were warming up for new seasons. The NHL and NBA seasons were heading towards the playoffs.  COVID’s full impact had yet to be determined when several NBA players tested positive.  Then a NHL player tested positive highlighting health and financial risks.  Each league took swift action suspending games and temporarily halting their seasons.  Owners were thrown into panic mode as billions could be lost in curtailing games and the potential end of a season.
At the same time America’s colleges and universities were considering switching to a remote form of instruction.  For dominate athletic conferences, sports is a central concern. The NCAA only has two major revenue producing ventures-football in the fall and basketball in the spring.  Depending on the division and conference, in late February and early March, the most important part of the spring college season was getting ready to begin. As the virus started spreading, colleges started sending students home for Spring Break and placed restrictions on attendance at games. Within days, the NCAA conceded to the reality that lives were more important than dollars. It cancelled “March Madness”, its most expansive and lucrative enterprise.
The loss of the NCAA games hurt each segment of the sports commerce.  It equally harmed enrollments - recruiting for future student-athletes and incoming students.  For many current players this represented a lost season, and for the graduates it was a bitter ending to many collegiate careers. The impact was immeasurable.
In contrast, professional sports resorted to stop gap measures to continue earning minimal revenues. To make up for the lack of sporting events, television and other media viewers have been teased with replays of classic games and events, documentaries, and a variety of video/e-sports championships. However, such ventures are hardly fulfilling. Americans demanded actual product. Sports, it appears, seem to fill the need for spontaneous entertainment. It is controlled violence, often with unpredictable feats and strong willed personalities. The modern athlete is the newest gladiator.  Such warriors represent a needed commodity for a nation that cannot win a war.
That leads us to question: do American fans only watch sports to associate with winning; what role does race play in our association with our sports heroes; and are we cheering for individuals or just numbers and names on the backs and fronts of jerseys?
For African American athletes 2020 is a critical year.  Their association with gladiator personas has strong elements of the aura of slavery.  The warrior imagery suggests stereotypes of the “black buck”, strong and able to withstand all types of pain. The need for sick slaves to continue working has indirectly led to contrasts with the black athletes.  Fans expect their “heroes” to perform under all conditions.  And in words, major stars complied with fan demands. When diagnosed with COVID-19 numerous NBA players including Kevin Durant, Rudy Gobert, and Kyrie Irving downplayed their impact of the virus on their physical health giving the impression that they were not playing to only protect their teammates.
Such statements led fans to distinguish the professionals from the amateurs and white athletes from athletes of color. White sports figures could get sick and therefore they should not play, but athletes of color should play. After all, they were making large sums of money or receiving free educations. Fans were willing to forgive some leagues and players for their response to virus and not willing to pardon others.
Outside of NASCAR, the PGA, and the NHL, the majority of America’s athletes are men and women of color. This far different than 100 or even 50 years ago when most of our national heroes were white. It is different from the era where star athletes sacrificed for the nation and went off to fight in World Wars.  And it is a different era from the time when many African Americans were the first Negroes to integrate a sport.
We are living in a new century, but the more things change the more they remain the same. White athletes still don’t have to carry the burden of race like Henry Aaron, but in today’s society Aaron’s stoic calmness would have frightened the masses.  Today’s Michael Jordan would have struggled to remain non-political, and today’s Cam Newton would not want to be silent until he left the academy. Black college students would reject the oppression that faced earlier pioneers. They would expect to be judged on the same standards as their white college counterparts?  They would have found it difficult to be the Paul Robeson, Fritz Pollard, Jackie Robinson, or Haywood Dotson of their times? 
Unfortunately, white fans, college athletic directors, and team owners are slowly coming to the realization that the black athlete is changing. The convergence of the pandemic with its overwhelming impact on communities of color and the rash of recorded acts of police brutality against men and women of color is going to forever change America’s relationship with professional and NCAA athletes.  The knelling made famous by Colin Kaepernick is now going to be the least of America’s concerns. Black and Latino athletes are going to protest all symbols of systemic racism throughout American society.  On college campuses this includes team mascots, team chants, statues of Confederate soldiers, the treatment and language of coaches and the actions of boosters.  Similarly, the Confederate flag is disappearing from NASCAR and many universities are going to change the names of buildings that honor slave masters.
In the minds of many, the response of black athletes (both professional and amateur) to the murder of George Floyd and the impact of COVID-19 on their communities is a shift in political consciousness. I contend it is a revolution that has been developing for generations.  There are countless triggers for every revolution. I think that the public overlooked many of the more visible signs.
Many young African American men and women have had enough.  They no longer wish to be considered entertainers for the wealthy white patrons who fill the arenas and wear their jerseys.  While we all work for someone, black athletes also work for themselves. Their rejection of a society that tends to see them as super human but mindless jocks has caused another rift between the liberal and conservative commentators and pundits.  It is getting harder to tell black players to “shut up and dribble” when millionaire white players in MLB are seemingly refusing to work in the middle of a pandemic because they will not receive their entire salaries.  In contrast black NFL, MLS, WNBA, and NBA players are donating money, time and energy to address societal inequities.  And some, especially WNBA athletes, are deciding to sit out the season to work on helping communities of color and fighting injustice.
As the nation readjusts from the onset of COVID 19, college sports, not the professional leagues are taking center stage. The campus will determine the scope of the forthcoming struggles. Pressured by Washington, colleges and universities are planning on returning to campus in the fall. Along with the “return to normal” is the return of NCAA sports, especially football.  The first games of the season are scheduled for late August.  Keep in mind that the NCAA season starts before the NFL season.  NFL players and their union are negotiating a later season and more protection. College students are not afforded union protection or enhanced safety measures.
It is fair to have student-athletes back on campus when everyone else is still sheltering at home?  The plantation mindset says yes! Colleges need the income created from the television coverage of Division I football. So, students must earn their keep and play for their scholarships. 
But, what about the non-scholarship players? And, is there leverage as college sports remains the sole audition platform for future professionals? Many student-athletes who are considering a professional career must play or be willing to forfeit the last chance to showcase their talents.
However, there may be a great awakening. The next phase of this revolution is the rejection of the player working for the university. We are witnessing the direct extension of the Ed O'Bannon case. Can college players demand financial compensation beyond their scholarships? 
Currently NCAA division I players have returned to campus to begin workouts.  Division II and III players will report by July. Numerous college presidents and athletic directors have announced that they expect to have fully attended games in stadiums that seat 70,000 and 80,000 patrons. We need to question in whose best interest is the NCAA serving? 
I posit that black student athletes will start an abolition movement to transform the traditional ideas of athletic scholarships. They will place their health over the interests of the academy.  
In realistic terms, catching COVID-19 is different than breaking an arm or a leg. However, both instances should encourage student to look at their health benefits. The risks of developing COVID-19 may be comparable to developing CTE from concussions.  No one knows the future impact and if the risks are worth the outcomes.
The numbers of students who have tested COVID positive are staggering. For example, 13 players at the University of Texas, 14 at Kansas State, 6 at the University of Houston, and 23 at Clemson have been infected and have tested positive. 30 LSU players are in quarantine, and according to Inside Higher Education students at Auburn, FSU, Iowa State, Alabama, Texas State, Troy, Oklahoma State, Mississippi, and the University of South Florida have also tested positive.
Should we be surprised by numbers of infected students?  I don’t think so. To think differently suggests that we are ignoring issues of race, class, and residence. And, this is why we will witness a new black revolution!  Playing sports may enable people to leave behind bad neighborhoods, but it does not allow you to escape the nature of race and racism.  A generation has come of age and there is no turning back.  “Buck” has left the building and a yet to be determined persona is replacing him. It might just be Nat Turner or Marcus Garvey, but this revolution will not be silent or non-violent. When it ends fans, owners and athletic directors will have to accept the obvious, Black Lives Do Matter.  Young people are seizing the moment. And America's relationship with sports will never be the same!

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