Dave Zirin

During the 2016 NFL preseason, San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick began to sit during the national anthem as a protest against a recent series of police shootings of Black Americans. The protest went unnoticed for weeks until a sportswriter asked Kaepernick about it. Kaepernick responded, in part: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color.” His words caused a firestorm, drawing outrage from many quarters but inspiring many other athletes to join him in acts of resistance. After talking with former Green Beret and NFL player Nate Boyer, Kaepernick began to take a knee as an act of both dissent and respect, which both hoped would calm the rhetoric around the situation. It didn’t.  Kaepernick was released by the 49ers in early 2017 (despite a solid 2016 season) and has not been signed by another NFL team.

In The Kaepernick Effect (The New Press), Zirin examines the political movement that was sparked by the quarterback's iconic gesture and continues to this day. The book also chronicles the lives of athletes and other figures across sports, from high school to professional, and how their activism has impacted their athletic pursuits. Zirin regularly writes about the intersection of sports and politics and the activism of such pioneers as Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Billie Jean King, Craig Hodges, and many others.

Order your copy from the Wexner Center Store.

Read more

• Dave Zirin web site
• The Edge of Sports
• Dave Zirin’s recent columns at the Nation