About the Cleveland Browns and calls for unity
For the past three years, athletes have begun to use their platforms to speak about social issues affecting them and their communities more frequently. From Ariyana Smith, to the majority of the WNBA, to Colin Kaepernick, to Michael Bennett, athletes have faced public backlash as they have worked to highlight the abuses African Americans have faced at the hands of police officers and other individuals across the United States.
During a nationally televised preseason game against the New York Giants in late August, seven players kneeled during the national anthem. When asked why he kneeled, one of the players, Seth Devalve, said that he kneeled to draw attention to the inequalities African Americans face in the United States. The response was swift as the players were on the receiving end of criticism from the Cleveland police union (par for the course for them) and national media personalities. A few days ago, the union backed off their protest and decided to join with the team in a show of unity during the Opening Day ceremonies against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Police Patrolmen Association president Steve Loomis released a statement after the agreement was reached, saying in part:
"Once again Cleveland has risen above the fray and has demonstrated that respectful communication is the key to solving any problem. We can always accomplish much more good by standing, communicating and working together than we ever will by standing apart."
Yesterday, the team played a video before the game that expanded more on the unity theme:
It was reported earlier today that other teams might follow what the Browns did.
The statement, video, and underlying sentiment is great, but when you think about it a bit closely, it starts to ring pretty hollow. The protests from Kaepernick, Michael Bennett, and other athletes over the past year haven’t been about unity or coming together (or bashing police and military). They’re specifically calls for justice. Generally speaking, when Black people have called for justice, the response from the public at large has been to ignore the issues they’re protesting and instead call for everybody to come together as one. These calls never actually address the core reason as to why protests have been happening. Instead, it tries to make everyone feel good while not having a real, genuine conversation of how we go about ending racism and improving the lives of Black people here in the United States. Calling for unity instead of truly working to create a fair, equal society lets certain groups off the hook and maintains the status quo. #AllLivesMatter-ing these issues is cowardly and speaks lowly of the people who go that route.
Last year, the Seattle Seahawks held a similar unity demonstration before a game. At The Root, Dr. Jason Johnson explained his criticism of that moment and what he said then can apply to the Browns as well:
Don’t take a knee if you’re afraid of offending sponsors or fans or think that it’s disrespectful. Don’t engage in some demonstration that neither addresses the issue of police brutality nor satisfies the “Respect the flag” crowd. Further, calls for unity always magically appear after people of color make noise about injustice and institutionalized racism. Unity is a pacifier thrown at people of color to distract from the serious suffering in our community.
I think the athletes that have spoken out over the past couple of years deserve credit. They have used their platforms and risked public backlash (and worse) in order to speak out on issues that affect them and their communities. We do them and ourselves a disservice by responding to their calls for justice with generic responses of equality and unity instead of concrete ways to actually fix the issues surrounding racism and discrimination Black people face on a daily basis. We can and should demand more.
