2017: How Sports and Politics Collided
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In 2017, sports activism seemed to take on a new energy, both on the field and off. And many people credit one person with starting that momentum: Colin Kaepernick.
Accepting an award this month from the ACLU of Southern California, Kaepernick, the still-unsigned football player, said, "We must confront systemic oppression as a doctor would a disease. You identify it, you call it out, you treat it, and you defeat it.”
Kaepernick first took a knee to protest the treatment of people of color in the U.S. back in 2016. But it started a wave of similar actions by others in the sports world, and ultimately led to rising tensions between players and President Donald Trump.
Jelani Cobb, staff writer for The New Yorker, joins The Takeaway to break down what made 2017 such a landmark year in sports activism.
For more from Jelani Cobb on the history leading up to this moment in sports activism, he's featured in a new documentary from Retro Report, made in partnership with The New Yorker, called “The Black Athlete in America."
This segment is hosted by Todd Zwillich.
