“Nothing More Divisive than Politics”: Colorblindness and Antiblackness in NFL Protest Discourse

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 2016, Colin Kaepernick began demonstrating during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, kicking off the NFL protests. This paper examines a turning point in protest discourse: statements by President Donald Trump in September 2017 that NFL owners should say to (primarily Black) protesting players, “Get that son of a bitch off the field.” In the wake of these remarks, team owner responses that came to their players’ defense emphasized the need for “unity” over “divisiveness,” using tropes of liberal colorblindness to privilege the status quo over directly addressing anti-Black racism in the league and in American life. These responses represent a rhetorical strategy of containment, more effective at suppressing the radical potential of the protests than previous “All lives matter” counterarguments. By framing all political discourse in the NFL as anti-unity, team statements contributed to the containment of Black activism and the perpetuation of racism inside and outside of the league.