Name: Ryder

Social Justice Group: Sports and Equality

Date of Fieldwork: November 14, 2018

Name of Organization: Columbia University panel about sports

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: William Rhoden

Type of Fieldwork: Panel Discussion

What I did:

We sat in during a panel discussion about social justice and sports. Afterwards, we got to talk to one of the people on the panel, William Rhoden, and we got to set up another time to talk with him.

What I learned:

I observed that social justice in sports is a really huge topic and it can cover many things. For example, many athletes came together to keep the rights of Muhammad Ali. Sports has come a long way from no activism to kneeling in protest, wearing t-shirts to support causes, and much more. They talked about how Colin Kaepernick has programs that help kids understand the law. Also how the NFL is doing more than the NBA for Justice. They talked about how professional sports is “White Controlled.” I also learned that a black football player in Maryland died of heat stroke because of the coaching staff’s lack of treating all players well.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned from the example of Colin Kaepernick, who knew he would never play in the NFL again when he began kneeling, that sometimes you need to be willing to give up a lot in order to fight for the cause you believe in. I also learned that activism has been increasing in professional sports.