Re-Conceptualizing Kaepernick’s Kneeling Protests and His Banishment From the NFL as an Infringement on His “Right to Work”
Date
2023-06-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Black Studies
Abstract
A nascent literature is emerging that analyzes the case of Colin Kaepernick who was “locked out” of the National Football League (NFL) beginning in 2017 because he chose to protest police brutality, systemic racism, and white supremacy. Using status expectations states theory and prototypicality theory, our research re-conceptualizes Kaepernick’s lock-out as an infringement on his right to work. First, we utilize a modified case-study approach comparing his experiences to those of six other Black male athletes who were “locked out.” Second, we utilize data and “matched cases” to demonstrate empirically that Kaepernick was locked out of the league while quarterbacks who were less qualified (based on specific performance measures) were allowed to continue working. Our analysis demonstrates that Kaepernick was denied his “right to work” because he, like other Black male athletes before him, challenged structural racism and white supremacy.
Description
This is the Accepted Manuscript version of Smith, E., Hattery, A. J., Kiss, M., & Foltz, K. E. (2023). Re-Conceptualizing Kaepernick’s Kneeling Protests and His Banishment From the NFL as an Infringement on His “Right to Work.” Journal of Black Studies, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347231177389. This article was originally published in Journal of Black Studies. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347231177389. © The Author(s) 2023.
Keywords
Kaepernick, white supremacy, football, right to work, NFL, structural racism
Citation
Smith, E., Hattery, A. J., Kiss, M., & Foltz, K. E. (2023). Re-Conceptualizing Kaepernick’s Kneeling Protests and His Banishment From the NFL as an Infringement on His “Right to Work.” Journal of Black Studies, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347231177389