After the San Francisco 49ers won their Oct. 27 game against the Dallas Cowboys, their star defensive lineman, Nick Bosa, appeared in a post-game media segment wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat in violation of the league’s uniform rules.
The NFL has avoided overt political messages since former 49er Colin Kaepernick’s anthem protests against police brutality against Black Americans. But what are the implications of a white player displaying an overt political message right before the United States presidential election?
Kaepernick received heavy media scrutiny and was very quickly exiled from the NFL for his protest and the apparent “distraction” it created. The power of the backlash Kaepernick faced was surprising, given that Democrats and Republicans are just as likely to be avid sports fans, with no meaningful differences in the strength of their fandom.
However, Republican sports fans tend to be more vocal about what causes should receive representation in sports spaces and make these judgments based on greater support for individualism and the military. That means there’s little evidence to support the argument that Americans want sports and politics to remain separate.
Nevertheless, support for conservative causes in sports spaces is generally accepted while progressive causes face strong resistance.
Limits on Social Justice Stances
For example, the NFL was slow to adopt anti-racism messaging following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 by a police officer ultimately convicted of murder.
Players initially felt they were being silenced by proposed league rules preventing players from kneeling during the national anthem. Eventually, the NFL agreed to allow players to feature social justice statements on the backs of their helmets. But this only came about after pushback from Black players, and they were limited to one of six pre-approved statements.
Generally, the NFL has preferred to support non-partisan political messaging. One example is “get out the vote” initiatives. That has not changed in the lead-up to the 2024 election, as teams have been holding voter registration sessions and featuring the word “vote” prominently in their end zones.
Bosa’s actions, however, were certainly partisan and constituted athlete activism, regardless of whether he wanted to discuss his views any further.
Previous Acts of Protest
Donald Trump’s second candidacy to become president, and the re-emergence of a vocal white ethno-nationalist voice in American politics, has seemingly motivated the demand for agency and fuelled new activism by predominantly Black athletes. Bosa, in the meantime, has used his platform via the NFL to support Trump.
The literature covering the intersection of sport and politics has mainly focused on individual acts of protest and nationalism. One prominent example is the protests by American sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
Their raised fists while on the medal podium were met with resistance and disapproval, with some commentators at the time arguing their protest was unnecessary and petty. Still today, many believe sport is an improper venue for political messaging.
In turn, Kaepernick’s protest against police brutality and historic inequalities was seen as unpatriotic and faced significant criticism.
Will Bosa face a similar backlash? It seems highly unlikely, especially since Bosa’s support for Trump will probably be framed as patriotic due to the former president’s populist rhetoric about returning America to greatness.
Double Standard?
The severe backlash against Kaepernick’s protest was driven by conservatives and centered on perceived disrespect for the military and the American flag. Those same conservatives are likely to defend Bosa’s actions, and will probably argue his hat was an expression of his First Amendment rights if the NFL takes serious action against him.
But when Bosa donned a piece of campaign merchandise on national television a little over a week out from a contentious presidential election, it was overtly political — arguably just as overtly political as taking a knee during the national anthem.
At the moment, given the NFL’s lack of action against him, Bosa seems to be benefitting from a double standard when it comes to the intersection of sports and politics.
It doesn’t appear Bosa is going to be suspended or miss any games for his actions. The NFL has until Saturday to announce any consequences for him, and it’s likely he’ll be fined up to US$11,000 for violating the NFL’s uniform rules by wearing unauthorized logos or branding.
But that fine is probably the full extent of the repercussions Bosa will face, and $11,000 is a bargain for a national television advertisement when the Trump campaign is already spending tens of millions of dollars on advertising.
‘Stick to Sports’
Furthermore, Bosa is unlikely to face the kind of dehumanization faced by progressive activist athletes that misappropriates their cause and fuels hostility towards them. When athletes protest in support of social causes, they often see their job market and marketing profile take a hit.
This is another example that shows when conservatives say athletes should “stick to sports” or “shut up and dribble,” they don’t actually want politics out of sports entirely.
Rather, they don’t want to see political views they oppose being platformed in professional sports spaces.
If they agree with the politics, sporting events are seemingly just another stop on the campaign trail.
