As the massive backlash from the National Football League’s (NFL) biggest players and president Trump keep playing out, I went on Joy Reid’s MSNBC show, “AM Joy,” to share my thoughts.
It is critical to remember that the right to protest is an American founding principle. By being so dismissive of this fact, and disrespectful of the mostly Black football players, Trump, in addition to his blatant racism, exposed how little he knows about the history of sports and politics in America. Sports fields have long been stages of protest for athletes in America.
The 1960s and 70’s were when some of the most iconic sport and political images were made, especially with Mohammed Ali’s relationships with Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, as all men became symbols of standing up to America’s racial inequality.
It is mind-boggling as a Bangladeshi to be discussing the right to protest and how in the wake of the NFL controversy, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is urging its players away from protest.
Sadly, feeling politically and socially gagged just may be the new normal in Trump’s America.