Sunday, October 23, 2016

A Football Fantasy: Sociological Reflections on Race and the Uneven Playing Field


Imagine playing football on a field where the home team has the advantage of playing on a downhill slope, and with the wind and sun at their backs, and where the visiting team’s side of the field is marked in twenty yard increments rather than ten, so that they must move the ball twice the distance of the home field to score a touchdown. Would you say this game is being played on a level playing field with fair rules?

Obviously, players in such a game would not have equal chances to succeed, but what if the home team was also unaware of their unfair advantages? What if the game was being played on a foggy day and the home team could not see the unequal slope of the field, or feel the surging winds blowing in the face of their opponent? Would players on this team feel as proud of their victory under such conditions?

Imagining a football game being played this way, under these unfair conditions, is difficult for most of us because we expect fair play when we compete, and we are surprised to learn that such unfair conditions could even exist because we have not played such a game before. But some Americans are quite familiar with these rules and, even though they play anyway, they might harbor a certain resentment toward the rule makers, or even the opposing team’s players who had no part in making those rules, especially when the home team players claim that the game was fair all along. 

Now imagine that the home team’s referee wants the home team to win, so she calls more penalties on the visiting team to keep them from scoring. Which team would be more upset about those bad calls on the field? If you found yourself on the visiting team forced to play this unfair game, who would you resent more, the referee for making bad calls on the field, the rule makers for creating a game with such unequal advantage, or the home field players for not acknowledging their advantage when they win a game that’s been fixed?

Or would you just be pissed at Colin Kaepernick and the Millikin football team for the manner in which they brought the issue to your attention? 

We need to remember that the whole point of these demonstrations is to raise awareness about all the unfair, discriminatory types of racism in the criminal justice system toward African-Americans, including police brutality. In a country that prides itself on freedom of expression, why are we obsessing over the form of that expression rather than the issue at hand? We seem to have forgotten the most basic civil right that formed the foundation of our national heritage - the freedom to protest peacefully. Instead, we seem to have adopted a form of Nazi patriotism, where flag waving is mandatory, and where one person (or one team) is condemned for exercising their American right to peacefully dissent in whatever way they choose. Isn’t this ideal the very right our soldiers have fought and died for? Isn’t this why this ideal was established in the FIRST amendment, and not the second or twelfth? Sadly, some have succumbed to conservative political correctness over America’s proud heritage of freedom of speech, in a country that been a beacon of openness to ideas, including those ideas that sometime offend us.

The “controversy” over Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the national anthem exposes our nation’s ignorance of the game itself, more than it does his audacity to do so. The negative reaction to our own Big Blue football team to remain in the locker room during the national anthem, showing respect through individual silent reflection (or one player’s decision to stand), likewise underscores our national deflection of the real issue of racial inequality more than it does the Fox News narrative that Millikin must hate America and its soldiers.


Like many of you, I found myself having to defend Millikin’s decision to support the team, after the social media blitz that followed soon after Fox News and other conservative media outlets sacked us for doing it. On Facebook, for example, I was scolded for working at such an unpatriotic school, and “one of the most black and liberal colleges around”. I mean, just read the comments underneath the original article from Fox News and you’ll see the outrage of some voices in conservative, white America over everything except what the demonstrations of Kaepernick and our football team are all about. They are way out of bounds in this regard. Across the country, and across most sports, athletes are expressing their concern over racial injustice in the criminal justice system. Even superstars like women’s soccer phenom (and former sociology major of mine at the University of Portland :), Megan Rapinoe, who continues her solo demonstration. Listen to her defend her anthem-kneeling here.  

So let’s get back in the game. Let’s talk about the central issue - the unjust system of criminal justice in this country – the racially systemic problems inherent in our system that the Black Lives Matter movement has been so successful at elevating to a national conversation (and why police departments across the country are currently reforming their police conduct practices following federal investigations by the Department of Justice in both Ferguson and Baltimore after the BLM outcry). And let’s talk about the reasons why Kaepernick’s mere kneeling, or our school’s support of our team’s decision to offer our players the freedom to express themselves how they wish, has agitated so many people around the country. A sociological perspective can help us better understand the game we are really playing here.

As white people we don’t readily see our advantages, and we are often perplexed by the visiting team’s outrage over injustice on the field of play because we do not suffer those injustices nearly as often. Have you ever watched a tight game with a friend who roots for the other team, and noticed how much more upset he gets when the referee fails to drop a flag for defensive pass interference when your team just scored on that play? It’s kinda like that.

Maybe it’s just easier to blame the game’s losers. As Michelle Alexander points out in her recent book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, we throw far more penalty flags at African-Americans than Whites for similar infractions, disproportionately targeting one team over another, resulting in systemic disadvantages that keep one team from winning, an intentional function of the modern criminal justice system. If you happen to have been born on the winning team, and fail to see the advantages your team has been given, you might take the time to read her book, or consider the volumes of scholarship on the subject of racial injustice in our criminal justice system, such as these several hundred, peer-reviewed studies that say the same thing.  Or you could listen to the voices of history that remind us of the true nature and scope of persistent racism in America, voices largely absent in traditional history classes, such as Frederick Douglass who said in 1853:

“A heavy and cruel hand has been laid upon us. As a people, we feel ourselves to be not only deeply injured, but grossly misunderstood. Our White countrymen do not know us. They are strangers to our character, ignorant of our capacity, oblivious to our history and progress, and are misinformed as to our principles and ideals that guide us as a people. The great mass of American citizens estimates us as a characterless and purposeless people and, hence, we hold up our heads, if at all, against the withering influence of a nations’ scorn and contempt.”

And finally, if you are a visual learner, I implore you to watch a new documentary on Netflix entitled, “13th for a powerful, eye-opening examination of racism in the criminal justice system, where reputable experts in the field examine this form of institutional racism with a historical lens.

Ironically, most of those who should probably educate themselves on these facts won’t bother with it, exercising their privilege to ignore the facts about that very privilege. They don’t need to bother with trying to understand how American life is experienced differently by Black men and women in America because they have never really felt this experience, and because they feel they are not directly affected by it. This is one form of white privilege: the privilege of not having to educate yourself about the minority experience in America. It is the privilege of ignorance.

Instead, as white Americans, we use our privilege to deflect the national conversation from these uncomfortable facts toward a tangential conversation about patriotism and how it ought to be publicly displayed, uniformly. Of course, we should be proud to be Americans, but our national pride should not discourage outrage over injustice no matter how we choose to voice it. So, for example, instead of acknowledging the anger expressed by a student like LeRyan Wolfe, who has written several heart-felt essays on the subject of white privilege recently, we can avoid facing it by slamming him for the “offensive” words he’s used to call out the uncomfortable subject of racism, or by dismissing his opinion as just that of another “angry Black man”, which is another form of privileged deflection. He’s just being a bad sport about it, complaining about the rules of the game. That’s what “people like that” do.

But what LeRyan is really trying to do is to call a foul in a game being played on an uneven playing field, with referees who are paid by the home team. The referees in this game are the police officers patrolling the streets of our community, and the uneven field we are playing on is our criminal justice system. So even though the referees are not to blame for the rules of the game, we can understand why the visiting team might be angry with them for favoring their home team – as misplaced as that anger may be - because they represent this historical injustice. And as spectators we should at least be honest enough to recognize our team’s unfair advantage when the referees make bad calls that cause the other team to lose.

And we shouldn’t be so vexed when the other team takes a knee.

Kenneth Laundra, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Department of Sociology & Organizational Leadership


10/20/16

20 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed the analogies you have made relating to something that has always pissed me off which is unfair calls in sports. it really is closely related to what is taking place with race. I think that my generation has race goggles on. We do not notice race as much as the prior generations. I think what is going on in world with race is much easier to ignore because the topic of race is uncomfortable. We are so scared to offend someone or say something wrong like you said in class. We have the freedom of speech and we all have the right to say what we believe in. Think how boring this world would be if we all thought the same, or never stood up for what we feel is right. This world would be robotic and suck.

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  2. After reading your blog, it made me want to share this with others. Many people are blind to the fact that there are obstacles that people of color face everyday. sure its easy to say that anyone can make it but without the proper resources your chances are lowered. just like you said in the blog, its easier to blame the losers for losing especially without understanding why. i also like that you brought up the point about how we are more upset with people expressing their freedom rights, rather than the addressing the real problem which is police brutality and unfair treatment in the criminal justice system. with 60% of americans being white, its harder for minorities to get there point across and actually be heard, so if takes kneeing at football game or not going on the field to recognizes that there is a social issue in america than so be it.

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  3. I could easily distinguish/recognize the correlations between the course material and the parallels of issues currently prevalent in today's society regarding institutional racism and race inequality that were effectively addressed/depicted within your thought-provoking parable/analogy emphasizing the true nature of perceptual differences among clearly advantaged and disadvantaged groups and associated stigma.
    What I enjoyed most about your argument was definitely your identification and evaluation of the significant role that awareness, or lack thereof, plays in determining whether an individual is completely oblivious to or acutely aware and purposefully rejecting of the distinct differences in the treatment, judgment, and behavior displayed toward non-white minority groups in comparison to that of the white majority.
    Being a young white male, myself, I admit that I both consciously and unconsciously demonstrate behaviors and express ideas inherently grounded in the notion of "white privilege" despite my hatred of all forms of injustice and my love of practicing a lifelong philosophy that each and every human being is a unique individual whose character is molded and shaped more by personal life experiences than his or her tone/color of skin, and should therefore be assessed and judged based on the merit of their individual character and the nature of their actions.
    For example, although I hold a deep respect, admiration, and sympathy for the countless African-American citizens involved in the Civil Rights Movement who endured unimaginable pain, suffering, and oppression to overcome adversity/injustice and stand unwaveringly to support their belief of equality for all citizens, regardless of color, I have purposefully and hypocritically ignored and rejected Kaepernick's current demonstration of support for the very same belief simply because I have never been forced to endure unfair/oppressive societal hardships or injustices due to being born of the privileged Caucasian "race".

    Simply stated, I found the article to be deeply riveting by encouraging me to look within myself for that unconscious sense of "privilege" that has ultimately led me to contradict one of my most valued moral beliefs, one that I consider to be the very foundation of my individual character, and defeat the very purpose I stand for in advocating for equality through mutual respect and recognition of individuality.

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    1. Well stated, Mitch, you clearly make the connection.

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  4. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article and becoming more knowledgeable on the issue that is at hand. This article does an excellent job at bringing the issues currently prevalent in today's society regarding institutional racism and race inequality to attention. Prior to discussing Millikin's decision to take a knee in class, I was unaware of the underlying reason. I think that the message they are trying to give is getting lost in the media. People should not be so focused on bringing awareness to the issue but actually act on it if they want to see a change.
    Reading about white privilege in the article really made me reflect on myself as a person. I could say that before coming to college I have experienced white privilege being a suburban, white, catholic girl. Throughout high school the most debt teachers went into race inequality was touching over slavery. I did not learn about what was actually going on in society and why it is happening. When I came to college I took and African- American Slavery course. I became more educated and aware of the injustice and racism that minority face. I think that white privilege can also stem from not being properly educated in the underlying issue.

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  5. The initial analogy connecting unfair conditions in a football game as related to racial inequality was used, in my eyes, to help emphasize the difference by which we would treat each situation differently. If the away team had to play in such conditions, they would rightfully protest and rebel against such conditions, and the overwhelming majority of people in the U.S. would stand behind them. These types of setbacks are faced by minorities today, but they are not receiving the same support, because the problems are not as easy for most people to see. "Colorblind" people do not agree that there are issues, for the sole reason that they do not affect their daily lives, and it's not an issue that is comfortable to take a stand on. Anybody can back a football team, or hate them, for that matter, but it is much harder for people to do the same on serious issues, such as race.

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  6. Before this class, I was unware of the reason why people were kneeling. I was one who was judging these people and thought what they were doing was wrong. Now I am more knowledgeable about the situation and understand their reason for doing so. I believe we all have the right to express ourselves in whatever way we want; however, there will always be people who not agree with you. The message that we should be talking about is the real issue with racism in the criminal justice system, instead the focus is on being “unpatriotic.” Being a white female and growing up in a predominantly white community, I am unaware of the struggles minorities deal with. I have never paid much attention to the difficulties people of other races experience, but now I am now more aware of these issues.

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  7. I applaud your comparison and analogy between leveling the playing field of a football game to the inequality and discrimination people of color face. Each one of us has a story but until our society accepts that there is truly a problem I'm not sure taking a knee will make a difference. The real reason for the protest, racism in the criminal justice system, has been lost. Furthermore, people are not willing to educate themselves they just want to have a knee jerk reaction to the protest. I am not a person of color so I will never know the obstacles each one faces, but I am willing to learn and understand their grievances. We have heard it said many times before that you can never fully understand where a person is coming from until you walk a mile in their shoes. We all have freedom of speech and we will also face the consequences whether good or bad.

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    1. "Verstehen" is the German sociologists, Max Weber's, term for "putting yourself in another's shoes." I should mention that in class!

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  8. I enjoyed reading this blog because it help give me a understanding on how the situation is look at from a different race. Even though many may not agree or understand the protest it is still good to see that their are other people from a different race see the true meaning of the protest and not just closed minded about the protest.

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  9. I enjoyed reading this post. It really gives you a greater understanding of why people would knee before a game. I like the way you used an unfair advantage in a football game to describe this. This class has really helped me open up my mind and helped me quit being so narrow minded about my beliefs. I will always stand for the national anthem, but reading this blog and taking your class has helped me understand why some people won't stand. All in all, this was a great post.


    Jack Simpson

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  10. Coming from a Mexican-American point of view, I really liked reading this article because I can see how it makes a connection in my life as a "white" American or as a Latina. You made fair arguments on both sides of the story and I can see how a white American can start to realize some of the disadvantages minorities in this country face by reading this article. I feel blessed to have grown up as a Latina, because I see both worlds of this issue. I am proud to say that I am not fully ignorant to the injustices in our criminal just system but I can also see how easy it is to forget that I as well have privileges solely based on the color of my skin. This article was a nice refresher and I wish I could get my white girlfriends to read this and even understand it just a little bit or care enough to try to understand it. Most of the time they simply roll their eyes like it's a nuisance to them to have to hear about another BLM story.

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  11. I agree with everything you are saying. In class we were discussing race. For the football team, their actions were not heavily influenced because of race, but influenced more apon their decisions as a team.The team came to a conclusion to do something, for the most part. In the locker room there was an American flag,so players who wished to stand for the flag, could. The team was trying to satisfy everyones needs by their action.

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  12. I really enjoyed reading your article.It gave me more knowledge about the issue that is at hand as of now. This article brings out the issues that is currently happening in today's society regarding race inequality and racism.The football team at Millikin University was more influenced upon the decisions they made as a team rather than racism.They decided as a group. Whoever wishes to pledge and knee down outside on the ground,they are welcomed to do it.Whoever wishes to stand up for the pledge in the locker room,they are welcomed to do it there too.It was their individual choices!At least they are pledging for the country.It's just their choice of however they want to pledge.I don't know why media is making a big issue out of it?

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  13. I truly enjoyed reading this article. As a Millikin University football player I experienced this event on a more personal level then others did. This article brings out the issues of race, inequality, and racism that are occurring within our society that seemed to be over looked by the article about Conner. As a member of the football team that decided to stay inside the locker room to show unity as a team, I respect my fellow teammates decision to stand for the national anthem but do not agree with the way he decided to express himself without acknowledging the team. Therefore, as individuals we have the freedom to express ourselves as we please. With that being said this class has provided me with knowledge that allows me to take into consideration what other people believe which might be different then myself, do to the fact other people have experienced things that could change their point of view.

    Chris Misner

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  14. I think it's very important to point out the main reason why people are taking a knee during the anthem before we make any assumptions. Remembering the point is to raise awareness about all the unfair, discriminatory types of racism in the criminal justice system toward African-Americans along with police brutality is crucial in being able to make a decision based on supporting taking a knee or not. Without doing so, I think people will not be able to understand the true meaning of their actions and can paint a picture that isn't needed. This article resonates with the recent lectures you've given in class, explaining how there can be a such thing as "white privilege" with those of that color, and then being oblivious to the fact that they are more privilege than others. Whether you are more privileged than others or not, you have the right to express yourself any way that you want. with that being said, I believe that society has created ways that bashes or criticizes people who express themselves in ways in which people disagree with. We live in a society where inequality isn't dying down, but becoming more transparent and is continuously growing, which is a scary thought seeing as though inequality as it is now can result in innocent people losing their lives.

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  15. I think your analogy was exactly what people need to be given when they begin questioning the support people put behind Millikin, Kapernick and so many others. I think that people need to take the time to read things like this rather than watching FoxNews and getting the wrong information. People don't see that bigger picture and some refuse to try to understand and to educate themselves on the issues African- Americans face. I personally do not see the issue with taking a knee. Some people don't pledge allegiance because it says "under god" and they don't believe in god. It isn't because they are anti America or non patriotic it is against their personal belief. The U.S. is suppose to be a free country but all hell breaks loose the second anyone expresses that right.

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  16. I really like how you compare the game of football and home-team advantage to those in the criminal justice system. Being a minority, I can relate on some level of having that uneven disadvantage, but being as I am mixed, my brother has been able to experience "white privilege" in some ways. I think all minorities face some type of an uneven playing field, and since I am Hispanic and White, I get to see the best of both worlds and how unjust it really is. You've said before in class that we try to separate ourselves as cats and dogs, but little do people know, we are all dogs, just different breeds. I think more people need to adapt this way of thinking and understand we are all part of one race, the human race, and from there we are different kinds of humans, special in our own way, just like the different dogs. I encourage others to read your article and think deep about the real issue our society is facing, not something that's just going to make an appealing headline.

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  17. I really liked this article, Ken. For someone like me, who is in your course, it is easy for me to look into our world now and see that there is not an even playing field. But, for someone who is just stumbling onto this piece that you wrote, I think that it would be a real eye-opener for them. The way you wrote it makes it easy for people to understand. Sometimes the calls made in the game are unfair; it is the same way in life. For other people that are different then you and I, life is just like trying to play a football game and your team had to run uphill.

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  18. Reading this article, I was reading the words that my brain wanted to put together. Trying to explain to my conservative family members all of this is challenging. As someone who grew up in an all black neighborhood besides my family, and went to a school where half of the population was African American, I have seen these inequalities my entire life. I just didn't know what it's real and true extent was. The use of football as your working analogy is so much more effective then I think most realize. It is for one, relevant because it is the controversial mechanism of protest that is being discussed, and 2 relevant because it is something that most who are protesting the kneeling, have passion for and understanding of. The reactions of people who disagree with their form of protest is interesting to me because of their exclusive and narrow definition of patriotism. It has always been my understanding that when you take pride in something you never stop making it into the best that it can be. As an athlete because you are prideful of your skill you work out and practice to give yourself something more to be proud of. From where I am sitting that is the end goal of the people who feel compelled to bring to light the injustices in our country. They want America to be better for all who live here. I wish that more people would read this article and understand the need for this movement. I think that also bringing in to the conversation that all who want to punish the people who kneel are attempting to violate a right given to us since the foundation of out country is very effective. Very well written article.

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