Oh, Say, Can You Kneel: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Colin Kaepernick’s Racial Protest

2019/09/26 by Shane M. Graber, Ever J. Figueroa, Ever Josue Figueroa +1
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Academic Freedom and Politics #Banner #Critical discourse analysis #Gender studies #History #Ideology #Kneeling #Law #Media studies #Newspaper #Oppression #Political science #Politics #Race (biology) #Racism #Rhetoric and Communication Studies #Sociology #Sports, Gender, and Society

paper · doi:10.1080/10646175.2019.1670295

openalex publication_date 2019/09/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/12

Abstract

In 2016, Colin Kaepernick, a Black NFL quarterback, began sitting and kneeling during the Star-Spangled Banner to protest oppression against people of color in the United States. Instead of beginning a discussion on race, however, Kaepernick’s resistance sparked criticisms that he was unpatriotic. Using aversive racism, symbolic/modern racism, and colorblind racism as a theoretical framework, this critical discourse analysis of ten American newspapers found that patriotic ideals—the American flag, military, and National Anthem, in particular—were used as a way to avoid completely discussions on racism.

Citations

• Sporting Images in Black and White: Race in Newspaper Coverage of the 2000 Olympic Games
• The politics of race and sport: Resistance and domination in the 1968 African American Olympic protest movement
• Aversive Racism