You probably recognize the names in the title, as one of them is the name of debatably the best boxer of all time Muhammad Ali who recently passed away lately, and the other one is the name of a NFL quarter back who whose career as taken a turn for the worst but, has been making a serious impact not the world lately. The one main thing they have in common is that they both have helped with the civil rights movement. The main reason why I chose these two people was the fact that they were in the spotlight when they decided to make a difference. The fact that they were in the spotlight made them more influential.
The point of this post was not for me to tell you about some famous atheletes, it is to show you the other similarity that they have. Both of these atheletes were involved putting there foot down to fight for what they believed in. Muhammad Ali was told that he had to go fight in the Vietnam War. He was sentenced to prison for up to 5 years and a $10,000. At first he refused induction at the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in Houston that spring, and refused to be inducted into the Army. He said “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Vietcong,”(New York Times) that basically stated that because he doesn’t have an issue with the Vietcong means that he shouldn’t have to go to war with them. He did this because black people were being treated like second class citizens at the time. He condemned racial discrimination in America declaring that “no Vietcong ever called me n#$%*&”(New York Times). He put his foot down to being treated like a second class citizen.
If you don’t know who Muhammad Ali is becuase you have been living under a Rock for a very long time. He was born with the name Cassius Clay and he was mainly known for being a boxer and one of the greatest ahteletes of the 20th century or even of all time. He won an Olympic Gold Medal in 1960, he was also the world heavyweight boxing champion in 1964. He won the heavyweight title in the 1970’s twice more. Some of the more well known boxers he beat were Joe Frazier and George Foreman. His boxing record was incredible with 56 wins while 37 of those being knockouts and 5 losses before he retired when he was 39 in 1981. Shortly after that in 1984 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Because of that he devoted a lot of his life to philanthropy which earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. He recently died in 2016 at the age of 74 after being hospitalized for a respitory issue.
Colin Kaepernick became larger than football after he refused to stand during the National Anthem before NFL games were started. He did this because he wanted to fight against police brutality and racial injustice. He said “To me, this is something that has to change,” and also that he could not “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He first sat during the anthem but he later decided to kneel instead “to show more respect for men and women who fight for the country”. It was suggested for him to change by former NFL player and Green Beret Nate Boyer. This sparked a whole movement as other players were inspired to do it as well such as his teammates Eric Reid, Eli Harold, Jaquiski Tartt and Rashard Robinson. People all over the NFL started doing this from Jeremy Lane in Seattle, to Malcom Jenkins on the Philadelphia Eagles who actually raised his fist with some other people in the NFL. More people started doing it the year after in 2017. Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks told reporters he couldn’t stand for the National Anthem until he saw equality and freedom. Browns tight end Seth DeValve was noticed as the first white NFL player to kneel. The NFL stated that players were encouraged to stand but did not have to. After this happened Kaepernick became a free agent and no NFL team offered him a contract. Because of that he filed a grievance against the league, accusing team owners of colluding to keep him from being signed. Kaepernicks attorney said those who protest peacefully “should not be punished,” in a statement. Players continued to kneel. Public Backlash mounted until team owners in May declared that all team personnel on the field during the anthem must “stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.” If any team personnel on the field knelt, the team would be fined. Punishing offending staff was put into the teams hands to decide. After this has all happened Kaepernick has still not played in the NFL, partially because of his declining skill level but mostly because of the statement that he has made.
If you don’t know who Colin Kaepernick is, you have a little bit more of an excuse but then again he was all over the news this past year. He started to get some attention when he set several college football records in the University of Nevada. One of the records he set was to be the first in history of Division 1 FBS to pass for more than 10,000 yards and to rush for more than 4,000 yards. He still had a flaw in his game and it was the fact that he had issues with his throwing accuracy. He was then drafted by in 2011 by the San Francisco 49ers where he became the starting quarter back in his second year after Alex Smith got a concussion. In the NFL he broke a record when he rushed for 181 yards in a game which is the most for a quarterback. He then led the team to Super Bowl XLVII, where he lost to the Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans.
Colin Kaepernick became larger than football after he refused to stand during the National Anthem before NFL games were started. He did this because he wanted to fight against police brutality and racial injustice. He said “To me, this is something that has to change,” and also that he could not “show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” He first sat during the anthem but he later decided to kneel instead “to show more respect for men and women who fight for the country”. It was suggested for him to change by former NFL player and Green Beret Nate Boyer. This sparked a whole movement as other players were inspired to do it as well such as his teammates Eric Reid, Eli Harold, Jaquiski Tartt and Rashard Robinson. People all over the NFL started doing this from Jeremy Lane in Seattle, to Malcom Jenkins on the Philadelphia Eagles who actually raised his fist with some other people in the NFL. More people started doing it the year after in 2017. Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks told reporters he couldn’t stand for the National Anthem until he saw equality and freedom. Browns tight end Seth DeValve was noticed as teh first white NFL player to kneel. The NFL stated that players were encouraged to stand but did not have to. After this happened Kaepernick became a free agent and no NFL team offered him a contract. Because of that he filed a grievance against the league, accusing team owners of colluding to keep him from being signed. Kaepernicks attorney said those who protest peacefully “should not be punished,” in a statement. Players continued to kneel. Public Backlash mounted until team owners in May declared that all team personnel on the field during the anthem must “stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.” If any team personnel on the field knelt, the team would be fined. Punishing offending staff was put into the teams hands to decide. After this has all happened Kaepernick has still not played in the NFL, partially because of his declining skill level but mostly because of the statement that he has made.
That explained the more important similarities between these two atheletes. The fact that they were willing to risk everything to fight for what they believed in. They were true warriors when it came to Social Justice, and in a way they are also heroes, although Ali has a more positive reputation, as not many football fans like Kaepernick. Proof of that is when he was in a Nike ad, and almost immidieatly after people started burning their Nike apparel, people also burned their Kaepernick jerseys after his statement. They will now go down in history as atheletes who stood up for the greater good. To show this I made a photo essay, which if you didn’t know is a series of photos put together to purposely make you feel certain emotions.
This photo essay shows 3 pictures of each athlete in the same position. The first photo is an introduction into who they are as the photo is taken of them when they are in a position they are most commonly in. The second photo shows that they were involved the civil rights movement and the third shows them celebrating, to represent the impact that they made on the civil rights movement.