Commendable for diligence and endeavour, yet more suited for dipping into than for a long read

Russell Holden
In the Zone Sport and Politics Consultancy | @russinthezone

During the past decade increased attention has been devoted to the issue of activism in sport, a reality sparked by Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 act of taking a knee during the American national anthem before National Football League (NFL) games. This ignited a major debate on the intersection of sport and politics, initially in the United States and then more widely across the globe, one that extended beyond the all too familiar issues of Olympic boycotts.

Although Joseph Cooper’s latest work on African-American resistance and activism through sport has a restricted geographical boundary to its discussions, many of the concerns he expresses have a global perspective as neither resistance nor activism, the key concerns of this volume confine themselves to national frontiers. Rather, they need to be viewed through the wider prism of culture and identity, an area that is becoming ever more complex due to rising levels of global migration generated by climate change, repression and economic pressures.

As Cooper persuasively argues, Kaepernick’s actions were real manifestations of resistance which is part of a long lineage of activism through sport, incorporating symbolic acts and protests, advocacy, hybrid resistance, the exclusion and marginalisation of women, but sadly lacking in theoretically driven analysis of resistance methods. The author has chosen to take on a worthwhile and monumental task of unpacking the notions of resistance and advocacy, looking at how it is possible to challenge oppressive systems and ideological hegemony and doubles the challenge he sets himself in trying to bridge the gap between historical, sociological and journalistic approaches to examining his prime concerns. In seeking to justify this approach, Connor is a little harsh in his judgement of the work of sport historians, declaring that the detailed work they have undertaken is more archival than critically based and lacks an interdisciplinary theoretical lens. The reaction of sport historians to this charge will make for some interesting copy as well as discursive discussion. In seeking to justify this methodology his gripe with the sociological approach is that it is focused too heavily on the civil rights movement whilst the journalistic perspective though deemed pertinent, is seen to lack serious critical underpinning.

Across different sports and at varying levels, many athletes have organized around a broader movement for social justice constituting what Edwards referred to as a distinct and different wave of activism in today’s context.

In terms of layout, the volume is immensely detailed and scrupulously researched but conveys the impression of an academic handbook, as opposed to a text that possesses a powerful line of argument or even polemic that lives up to its stated intentions. It is also quite striking that only one of the chapters includes the term advocacy in its title. The author has chosen rather to focus purely on resistance, in terms of theoretical foundation, complexity, contingency, popularity, institutional reform and social justice and societal change. This suggests a lack of certainty regarding the relative distinctiveness of the meaning of the two concepts that Cooper is asking the reader to focus upon, and can be viewed as either the result of the blurring boundaries between terms or a weakness of the text. However, in acknowledging the sheer complexity of the task and the nuanced approach that the subject matter warrants, it has to be a case of the former.

Much of Cooper’s work has to be seen within the context of the 2016 keynote address by Harry Edwards at the annual conference for the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport in which he elaborated on what he has termed the four waves of athlete activism as contextualized within broader social movements in the US society from the late 19th century to the present. The first wave (1900–1945) was characterized by individual Black athlete activists such as Jack Johnson, Paul Robeson, and Joe Louis, and organizations like the Negro Leagues and athletic departments at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), that campaigned for recognition and legitimacy in an openly racist, apartheid society and sport industry. The second wave (1946–1960s), was led by athletes such as Jackie Robinson, a product of the Negro Leagues, and Althea Gibson. These and other Black athletes were catalysts for desegregation and access in the US society and the sport industry. The third wave (1960s–1970s) was largely directed by the Civil Rights Movement and the rise of the Black Power Movement, with Black athlete-activists such as Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar uncompromisingly leading the way in demands for dignity, respect, and social justice. Black athletes organized and collaborated closely with their non-athlete peers by engaging in various protests, boycotts and other actions aimed at securing civil and human rights for Blacks and other marginalized groups.

The period between the 1970s and around 2005 is one of stagnation in terms of Black athlete activism. Although there have been some Black athletes such as NBA players, Craig Hodges and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf who openly used their platforms (in the 1990s) to engage in political activism, there was a steep decline in Black athlete activism during this period. This is essentially explained by how, in the wake of the post-Civil Rights era, the government and sport governing bodies sought to stifle radical racial progress by offering moderate policy modifications. (Cooper 2019). The presence of civil rights legislation (e.g. Title VII), adoption of affirmative action policies (e.g. hiring in the workplace), and the increased access for racial minorities to various White-owned capitalist spaces across various sectors of U.S. society and sport contributed to a widespread illusion that racial equality now existed and contributed to this decrease in political activism. Moreover, the rise and commercial success of Black athletes who appealed to race-neutral, apolitical stances (O.J. Simpson, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods) helped temper political activism among Black athletes, many of whom seemed far more interested in acquiring and protecting their economic interests and rewards, notably corporate endorsements and professional sport contracts, than they were in engaging in acts of resistance.

More recently, however, a fourth wave of activism has evolved in response to the unjustified killings and treatment of Black Americans by police officers. Across different sports and at varying levels, many athletes have organized around a broader movement for social justice constituting what Edwards referred to as a distinct and different wave of activism in today’s context. As a significant differentiator of this fourth wave of activism, Edwards emphasized how high-profile Black athletes (e.g. Venus Williams, LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick) pulled together unprecedented independence and influence as mini-corporate entities and social media influencers who espoused the ideologies of Black Lives Matter and other social justice causes in efforts to secure and transfer power through economic and technical capital.

Cooper has opted not to deliberate too much on the impact of Floyd’s killing presumably believing the dust had to settle prior to engaging in an exploration of how this might alter the tone and possible content of his volume. In many respects he has spurned an opportunity to widen the discussion and possibly make his work more accessible to an audience both shocked and curious to learn more about the nature and context of this episode. It would also have provided a fine supplement to the volume’s strongest Chapter entitled “(Un)Popular Resistance: Public Demonstrations and Sport as a Platform for Activism”. While many brands and organisations, including sporting institutions, have shown solidarity with the George Floyd protests, the question is now: how will they contribute to real change? Presently, the activism on display is driven from the bottom up by athletes themselves. The NFL’s public shift on the Black Lives Matter movement, which eventually led to a video from commissioner Roger Goodell condemning racism started with a rogue NFL video producer editing a video featuring prominent players, without his employer’s knowledge. The leadership of major leagues, competitions and brands must make social purpose a priority by educating fans and consumers and ensuring stricter punishments for socially unacceptable behaviour. Such a move would demonstrate an ideal link between resistance and advocacy as in many instances movement on the street will generate movement on the playing field.

Cooper must be commended on his diligence and endeavour, yet this volume is more suited for dipping into as opposed to a long read. Its written style is a little clunky in places, as it reads like a manifesto written by an individual deeply concerned and embroiled in a fight that has lasted centuries, yet does not fully succeed is presenting his case in a way that will engage many possible converts to the cause. It does however make the reader more intrigued about the nature of the linkages between resistance and activism and whether at any point they can be viewed as independent realities or whether they remain forever bound together.

Copyright © Russell Holden 2024