Football season has kicked off in a major way this year. With San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick unabashedly leading the way in articulating his resistance to police brutality and the social injustice against black lives, several other members of the NFL payroll have also followed suit– some with some hefty consequences. Brandon Marshall, a linebacker for the Denver Broncos, took a knee as the national anthem was played during Thursday evening’s primetime game against the Carolina Panthers. In an interview following the game, he explained his stance and told reporters,“I’m against social injustice. I’m not against the military, the police or America at all. I’m against social injustice.”
Despite Marshall’s explanation and freedom to exercise his first amendment right, his actions led to the termination of two endorsements. The first coming from the Air Academy Federal Credit Union, who denounced Marshall as one of their ambassadors and released a statement saying, “AAFCU is a membership-based organization who has proudly served the military community for over 60 years. While we respect Brandon’s right of expression, his actions are not a representation of our organization and membership. We wish Brandon well on his future endeavors.”
Most recently, the global communications company, CenturyLink terminated their agreement with Marshall and explained their reasons saying, “While we acknowledge Brandon’s right, we also believe that whatever issues we face, we also occasionally must stand together to show our allegiance to our common bond as a nation. In our view, the national anthem is one of those moments.”
Really….really?
When was the “occasional” moment that these companies took a stand, in defense of black lives?
While Marshall doesn’t seem to be phased by the unfortunate Ls he’s been forced to reconcile with or the tyrants that have taken to social media to berate his choices, the precedent being set by companies and organizations terminating endorsement contracts with athletes is not to be taken lightly.
Making the choice to stand by a particular company and it’s organizational standards is one thing, but as an American and a black man, Marshall is entitled to stand by his own opinions as well. When CenturyLink and AACFU made the choice to terminate a connection to Marshall because of his views, it not only showed that while they respect his views, his opinions aren’t significant enough to stand by and reveals their unwillingness to join the movement in defense of black lives. It reiterates the price tags put on black bodies, deeming them just worthy enough, if they subscribe to particular ideals and practices that don’t deviate from what is considered right and justified under the veil of the American flag.
No longer will players and athletes stand by and pledge allegiance to an anthem or a flag or a nation that does not seek or practice equal justice for all. No longer will corporate money silence the voices that are courageous enough to speak up and speak out. For as Marshall pointed out,
“This movement is something special. People are going to bash me on social media but at the end of the day I’m going to go home and sleep peacefully knowing what I did was right. I will not lose any sleep.”
Moving forward, the Denver Broncos linebacker has already revealed that he will be taking a knee at his next game on Sunday and is joining his former University of Nevada teammate, Colin Kaepernick to develop ways to better alleviate and make better solutions for eradicating the tensions between police and black people. A meeting with Denver police Chief Robert White, set to take place on Tuesday is just one of the first steps on his mission to do so.
I’ve been given the chance to meet with the Denver police chief tomorrow.. If you have any questions you’d like to have answered
— Brandon Marshall (@BMarshh54) September 13, 2016
What do you think of athletes losing their endorsements due to their political or social views? Is it justified? Share your thoughts in the comments.
