Re-Conceptualizing Kaepernick’s Kneeling Protests and His Banishment From the NFL as an Infringement on His “Right to Work”

A nascent literature is emerging that analyzes the case of 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.