Boycotting the NFL ~ Can it Work?
Boycotting the NFL ~ Can it Work? With the ongoing saga of the NFL and Colin Kaepernick in full swing, there has been a great deal of discussion surrounding the possibility of a boycott of the NFL by the Black collective. While some of us will be boycotting the NFL on principle alone (This will actually be my second year boycotting the NFL, other want to know that their sacrifices will have an impact, which presents the question: Will a boycott against the NFL have an impact?
The simple answer to this question is: If it is planned, developed and carried out right. One problem that the Black collective has is that we consistently fail to invest the time and effort to learn and understand how things work, and our failure to develop a lucid perspicacity of social, corporate and political processes place us at a disadvantage that we are simply not equipped to overcome.
For a boycott of the NFL to be successful, it will take a significant number of Blacks to be willing to pull their money — not only from the NFL (via ticket and product purchases) but from all of its partners and sponsors. The more entities that lose money because of the NFL’s current stand with Colin Kaepernick, as well as its overall hypocrisy, the greater the impact the boycott will have.
In addition to the economic sanctions levied against the NFL, its partners, and sponsors, the Black collective must develop a focus spending agenda that will help strengthen it moving forward. We must be willing to invest in residential and community development in Black neighborhoods. We must be willing to invest in the holistic education of our youth, especially our young males, who are currently not being properly racially socialized. We must develop strategies that help us resist the gentrification of our neighborhoods.
This is about so much more than making a point to the NFL. You have to realize that the average age for NFL owners is 70, which means that most of the owners were not only alive before the Civil Rights Bill was passed, they were adults — meaning that they are from an era in which Black men knew their place, and it wasn’t speaking out about injustices. To them, shut up and play ball has a very true ring to it.
If we are going to take boycotting the NFL seriously, it is going to take a monumental effort and a lot of sacrifices, planning, and hard work. The question is not one of possibility but probability! ~ Rick Wallace, Ph.D., Psy.D.
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