Initially, six players knelt during the start of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” By the end of the anthem, however, two more players had taken a knee in solidarity with their fellow teammates.
All of the players that took a knee during the anthem were African American and, unfortunately, a great opportunity to show solidarity with the Black community was missed by the fact that none of the white teammates took a knee.
In describing what moved the Black players to take a stand, Ole Miss player Breein Tyree said at a press conference after the game: ”The majority of it was just that we saw one of our teammates doing it and didn’t want him to be alone. We’re just tired of these hate groups coming to our school and portraying our campus like we have these hate groups in our actual school.”
The Mississippi players’ act of resistance is a recognition of Colin Kaepernick’s protests while playing in the National Football League. These were protests over racism and police brutality that have led to an array of athletes protesting against racism and injustice.
Since Colin Kaepernick first knelt for the national anthem during an NFL exhibition game over two years ago, that courageous act has now evolved into a broader clarion call against social injustice and oppression. High school teams have used the gesture to stand in solidarity against racism. Notre Dame students invoked it as an expression of faith against racism. And Jewish students in South Africa even did it during Israel’s national anthem to stand in solidarity with Palestinians.
Havana, May 11 — The Cuban Conga Against Homophobia and Transphobia took its message of "Love…
Thousands of people marched in Brooklyn, New York, on May 11, to commemorate the 76th…
The zionist army is drowning in the quagmire of Gaza and paying the price for…
Join us this year for the 6th Annual Queer Liberation March for Black, Brown, Queer,…
Guantánamo, May 5 — An international peace seminar held in Guantánamo, Cuba, brought together…
May 10, Washington, D.C. — Carlos Lazo, coordinator of the Puentes de Amor solidarity project,…