The people of America hold a very special right, the freedom of speech. Freedom of speech protects the peoples right to voice their own opinion and ideas. Many people around the world don’t have the luxury of having freedom of speech protected. In recent years NFL players have exercised this right by using their platform to protest against police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem and talking about it in interviews. In this particular situation of the players exercising their right to freedom of speech the topics public sphere, ideology, and hegemony are found in the way the players, coaches, NFL handled the protest.
The NFL players kneeling during the national anthem was a perfect example of them exercising their freedom of speech. After the games the players were asked by reporters why they chose to sit during the National Anthem. They all expressed that they weren’t happy with the police brutality happening in America. These NFL games are aired on National T.V every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. Football is one of the most watched sports in America so the players had a giant platform that allowed them to reach many people. This allowed the public sphere to react. The public sphere is defined as “ A realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed.” in the article “The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article” by Jurgen Habermas. In this case the public sphere also known as the citizens, players, and coaches that were exposed to this got to form an opinion. Harbamas also claimed that the public sphere required a freedom of expression which in this case is the players kneeling and talking for the cause. The public sphere was also seen as the space that mediates between society and state by Haberamas. Society in this case would be the players who are seeing people in their hometowns on the internet/news being abused by police which would represent the state. Using their giant platform the players chose the prefect place to express their opinion to raise awareness by practicing their right to free speech and by affecting the public sphere.
With all the police brutality and abuse on social media and the news, the player who was the most famous for expressing his concern is Colin Kaepernick. Once Colin kneeled and expressed why he did so, many other players joined him in kneeling. If we look at the ideology behind kneeling during the national anthem, Kaepernick most likely seen it as a nonviolent way to shine some light on the injustice of police brutality happening in America. The National Anthem is something that is played before almost every sporting event. It is a symbol of respect, honor, and unity to those that made this country what it is. So the disrespecting of this ritual before every game by the players made some people angry. I see where this could anger someone but the players just ideally seen it as an appropriate time to shed light on this matter of police brutality. In Raymond William’s book Marxism and Literature he claims one way ideology is defined is “ A system of beliefs characteristic of a class/group”. In this particular situation Kaepernick’s class he’s fighting for is everyone who is policed. The players are very wealthy but for the most part grew up in middle class families and when they see people from their communities on social media or the news being abused, they want to use their platform to help.
Although the players of the NFL that had chosen to use their platform to express their freedom of speech for this good cause, not many football fans and owners were happy with what they were doing. Im sure owners had no problem with fighting for better treatment from police but once the owners seen that some people took a great deal of disrespect to kneeling during the national anthem, some management of the teams took action. The son of the Dallas Cowboys owner went on the radio and was asked a question if the players will follow the owners rule of standing for the anthem. The son answered in a radio interview with KTCK 96.7 FM saying “If they want to be a Dallas Cowboy, yes.” Meaning they will likely remove the player if they don’t stand for the anthem. With the moral leadership of the players and the force of management in this situation it has exercised hegemony. Defined in two ways by Antonio Gramsci in his article “Hegemony, Intellectuals And The State” first “Through domination/force” and secondly “Intellectual and moral leadership”. The players using this giant platform they hold at the beginning of the game when everyone at the game is paying attention to peacefully protest for a moral reason falls right in place with Gramsci’s first definition. The management of the Dallas Cowboys showed an example Gramsci’s of second definition, the owner set a rule to stand during the anthem and will use force to make sure the players respect that rule.
Through the expression of freedom of speech the players of the NFL took their big platform to spread a peaceful message. They took over the news and social media, and in some cases even risked their jobs to shed light on the situation our communities are facing. In this particular protest the players and coaches were good examples of the topics freedom of speech, public sphere, ideology, and hegemony.
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