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Most of us have seen the clip of Ryan Shazier taking a hit that left his legs motionless from a severe spinal injury. (see below) This is just one of the many severe injuries suffered by ballplayers. Sometimes the impact is immediate, but for most players, the impact of playing the game will be felt and struggled with for the rest of their lives.
This is one of the most insidious ways the patriarchy harms men…rendering male bodies as disposable as a form of entertainment. The hypermasculinity it requires to convince oneself that this is simply a “normal risk” one takes for the love of the game…sorry, it’s not normal. This is unnecessary and it’s a modern-day form of violent voyeurism.
Not to mention, the NFL has a bigger racism issue than it’s response to Kaep taking a knee…ever wondered why there’s an overrepresentation of black males in high impact, contact sports? The science doesn’t support the stereotype of genetic superiority when it comes to athleticism, yet black and brown men are continuously funneled into these sports, under the guise of a path to financial freedom.
Meanwhile, their bodies are wrecked by the age of 35 and NINETY-NINE PERCENT of NFL players tested have CTE, which we know presents as violent, homicidal and suicidal behavior. So yeah, an NFL career may get folks out the hood, but ending up with irreparable brain injury that ruins your relationships with everyone you love doesn’t feel like an equal exchange. Like veterans home from war, many of these men experience an accelerated degeneration of their bodies and minds. Don’t believe me? Here are a few stories to start with:
Then you can check out these stories, including the story of Terry Long, who died by drinking antifreeze.
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There’s a reason why the white team owners don’t have their kids or loved ones on the field. It’s no different than the times of slavery, when white slave owners would bring in the black ‘bucks’ to duke it out to the death…IN THEIR LIVING ROOMS AS ENTERTAINMENT. Take the living room slave fight scene in Django Unchained…that’s how I see Sunday night football. Disposable black bodies making money for white men. A continuation of our sordid history of redesigning and repackaging racism.
So that’s why I say, Kaepernick taking a knee is the least of the NFL’s race problems. There’s larger, systemic and historical problem here that we can no longer allow to be taboo. And yes, I’m glad Colin Kaepernick has still not secured a football contract. His brain and his body MATTERS.
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