By Nicholas Poblete/Staff Writer
The privileged platform athletes find themselves in, allows them to voice their thoughts and opinions on pressing social issues that our country faces today. However, speaking out on these issues comes at a price.
Michael Sam, former defensive end for the University of Missouri, is the first openly gay player to play in the NFL. During Sam’s senior year in college, he was named All-American and Southeastern Conference Defensive player of the Year.
In a Times Union article by Wendy Liberatore, Sam explained how he expected to be drafted in the second or third round of the 2014 NFL draft, but after coming out as an openly gay male, Sam wasn’t drafted until the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams.
Sam was the 294th player to be drafted out of 256. After four exhibition games with the Rams, in which he had 11 tackles and three sacks, Sam was released by the team.
Following his release from the Rams, Sam was added to the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad, later to be waived. Although there might be many reasons as to why Sam was never able to triumph in the NFL, Sam felt he was an outsider, according to Liberatore’s article.
“I had to prove to myself, to show that I was one of the guys,” Sam said in his speech at the University of Albany. “I was cut from the Rams, even though I was in the top five in sacks. Then I went to the Cowboys and had to do it all over again. And then I was cut there. I always felt like an outsider looking in.”
On Aug. 26, 2016, in a preseason game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers, Colin Kaepernick did not stand during the national anthem. Kaepernick’s protest has spearheaded the movement to stand up for racial equality within the NFL. The NFL has seen the majority of its players and teams follow Kaepernick’s example and have protested one way or another.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said to NFL.com. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick, quarterback who took the 49ers to the 2013 Super Bowl against the the Baltimore Ravens, in which the Ravens were crowned champions, is a currently a free agent. Kaepernick’s poor stats and his protests against the National Anthem are believed to be the reason for his free agent status.
These athletes are prime examples of how speaking out against injustice can hurt players’ careers. Sam and Kaepernick’s cases are complex. Their predicaments can be attributed to many reasons, but to ignore that these athletes have endured backlash from institutions and individuals would be to turn our back on pressing social issues that our society is having a hard time grasping.
Assistant Sports Information Director Ryan Rose explains the complications that can occur with an athlete and its employer.
“Athletes have the same rights with regard to freedom of speech as any citizen. No one can restrict a citizen’s right to freedom of speech. It’s in the U.S. Constitution… Where you run into issues is when you get in trouble from your employer when you utilize your free speech and those associated with you do not have the same viewpoint,” said Rose.
Rose continued to explain that social media and other platoforms such as that could potentially become dangerous landscapes
“People on Twitter and other social media get fired or in other kind of trouble for expressing an opinion that they are using to represent themselves, but that their employer gets linked to,” he said.
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