• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Thursday, June 8, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

College football and anti-Blackness

by Charles Hallman
September 8, 2021
44
SHARES
882
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn
Photo by Kevin Lee Dr. Tracie Canada

College football is perhaps the only American sport where being Black is not fully embraced.  The sport and Major League Baseball for several decades competed in a turtle race on who would integrate last.

It took forever for Black quarterbacks to be field generals, and for Blacks to be head coaches—two of football’s highly treasured positions. Nearly 50% of major college football players are Black, but the majority of decision-makers on and off the field remains predominately White.

Some of us over the years have viewed college football as anti-Black. 

Notre Dame Assistant Anthropology Professor Tracie Canada wrote earlier this summer that “anti-Blackness and racism are woven into the fabric of the current [college football] system.” Its roots were planted in the late 19th Century and consistently watered by White Supremacy, spreading falsehoods about Blacks as not being smart enough to lead a team on the field as QB or coach. 

We contacted Dr. Canada and asked her to further explain her hypothesis. “As an anthropologist,” she stated, “I’ve been thinking about this for about 10 years now, talking to and hanging out with and learning from Black college football players, to understand what their experiences are and how they feel about the environment that they’re in.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

“Why they chose to [play football] is really interesting” to her, continued Canada. “Why players in general, but Black players specifically, were still choosing to play football with all of this research that was starting to come out about long-term effects…that were becoming more prominent.”

The research Canada refers to is CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a progressive brain condition believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head, more associated with football and boxing. It cannot be accurately diagnosed during the affected person’s life, and there’s no cure. Warning signs usually include short-term memory loss and mood changes.

Asked if her research has drawn any ire, especially at Notre Dame, which to many fans is the cathedral of college football, Canada said not at least publicly. In her published article for the African American Intellectual History Society, she stressed, “Both on and off the field, Black players must navigate this atmospheric anti-Blackness.” 

It’s been a little over a year since America’s so-called racial awakening—the White guilt period that lasted maybe six months after the social unrest over George Floyd and other Blacks who died because of police violence. Institutions small and large, especially leaders of colleges’ and universities’ football teams, stumbled over themselves in their offers of “change” statements.

But as the 2021 football season gets underway, it looks like business as usual. “The deeply rooted anti-Black framework of the college football system cannot be substantially addressed with a pithy hashtag or a new logo or a fairly neutral public statement, said Canada. “College football is an institution dependent upon and implicated by racial capitalism, labor exploitation, and structural violence.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Canada said she is in the middle of writing a book on college football she described as “the anthological version of ‘Friday Night Lights’.” The 2006 movie inspired an NBC series on a small Texas town where high school football was king and anti-Blackness reigned supreme. “My plan is in the next three years for the book to be a thing based on my dissertation research. 

“When I talk to anyone about football,” she said, “I’m having a conversation to think about things through a different lens… What I’m encouraging people to do is to think a little bit differently about some things [like college football] that they might take for granted and not think twice about.”

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Back in the Day fest revives Southside community spirit (photos)

Next Post

Fear of eviction intensifies for thousands of MN renters

Charles Hallman

Charles Hallman is a contributing reporter and award-winning sports columnist at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

You Might Also Like

ESPN+ series highlights HBCU athletes, including those who dance
Sports

ESPN+ series highlights HBCU athletes, including those who dance

NIL compensation for college athletes is here to stay
Gophers/College

NIL compensation for college athletes is here to stay

The cold hard truth: college football can’t escape it
Gophers/College

The cold hard truth: college football can’t escape it

Next Post
CDC greenlights evictions despite continued pandemic

Fear of eviction intensifies for thousands of MN renters

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

The Latest News

Holloman giving back 

Holloman giving back 

‘Flintstones’ Lynx legend thrives on high expectations

‘Flintstones’ Lynx legend thrives on high expectations

Summer Guide: June 1-7 events

2023 Summer Guide: June 8-14

Outspoken public defender faces ‘star chamber’ reappointment (updated)

The case for juvenile justice reform 

A Night With The River marks the end of annual all-night arts festival

A Night With The River marks the end of annual all-night arts festival

7 ways to celebrate Prince’s enduring legacy 

7 ways to celebrate Prince’s enduring legacy 

Minneapolis
◉
64°
Cloudy
5:26 am8:57 pm CDT
FriSatSunMonTue
84/64°F
79/55°F
73/52°F
77/61°F
86/63°F
Weather forecast Minneapolis, Minnesota ▸
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Apr 13
April 13 @ 7:30 pm-June 10 @ 9:00 pm Recurring

Wit by Margaret Edson

Apr 14
April 14 @ 9:00 am-August 12 @ 5:00 pm

Paper Is People: Decolonizing Global Paper Cultures

Jun 8
10:00 am-4:00 pm Recurring

Preserving Nature Photos by Walter Griffin: REFLECTIONS

Jun 8
2:00 pm-6:00 pm

Juneteenth Business Forum

View Calendar

Read our latest e-Edition!

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 

Loading Comments...