This is an All Ears English podcast episode 1045, American football and taking a knee.
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We tell you in this episode about one of the biggest issues in football and American society today, and how you can have a conversation about this topic with native speakers in English.
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Hey, Jessica, are you going to be watching football this weekend?
No, I can say definitely not.
Definitely not.
I've never been an American football fan.
You know if listeners of All Ears English.
If you guys listen to our IELTS podcast, you'll probably be well aware of my lifelong passion for soccer.
And I feel like those two sports are like enemies, like American football and soccer.
Interesting.
I don't know why.
I think it's because, like you know, soccer is like European and like global, and American football is decidedly not.
Oh, that's interesting.
That's one perspective.
I mean, I hear in my place here in Boston I have my housemate here who is a very much a hardcore football fan.
I never would have guessed it.
Oh, yeah.
We she watches a lot of football, a lot of football.
She loves the game.
Her family is very much into football, college football, NFL.
There's always a lot of commentary.
And she's actually helped me to understand that how complex it is as a game.
It is super complicated.
I think that's one thing that it turns me off from it and probably other people as well.
It's like when you're watching this on TV and the ref or the sidelinesman or whoever is like has all these complicated hand motions and arm twirlings.
And I have no idea what any of this means.
It seems like there are so many rules that are broken.
I don't know.
I find it very confusing.
Oh, I think there's a huge learning curve.
But I think that's why some people who watch it love it so much because it's so complex and strategic that it actually is really there's a lot of thought behind it.
And I never knew that.
I always had my stereotypes about football and football players and who watches football.
But that's blown my stereotypes apart.
So anyways, it's always nice to be refreshed with having your stereotypes blown apart.
Speaking of issues, I mean we are moving into football season here Jessica, in the US, and there's a major kind of political slash social issue that is riding on football right now.
So guys, we thought that we would actually share this with you today and the two different perspectives on this issue, so that you can maybe engage in conversations when this topic comes up.
It is fascinating, you guys.
And yes, it is a very American thing that's happening.
But the perspectives that we can talk about in relation to this.
I think you can draw parallels with movements happening in your country or that have happened in your country as well.
So, as you listen to today's conversation and learn some vocabulary, Think about how you can take this vocab and connect it to your own cultural timelines.
I think that's interesting.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So Jessica, how does?
Almost actually pretty much, not just football, pretty much every American sport being played live starts with one very important event, one important kind of ceremony, slash ritual.
And what is that?
The National Anthem.
So even at high school games I mean every sports game especially, you know, the bigger ones like football and basketball baseball the National Anthem is always played.
And there's like maybe a famous person singing if it's a pro game and everything.
Everybody.
All the fans stand up, take their hats off, put their right hand over their heart and are supposed to sing along.
Right.
So it's a patriotic moment before the match.
Yeah, exactly.
And that's always kind of just been expected and accepted and it's always been done and it's never been questioned, until one athlete actually started to question that.
And who is that athlete, Jessica, that we're going to talk about today?
Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick.
Sorry, Kaepernick is how you say his name.
Yeah, so he has become a household name in America, and he even starred in a Nike ad, which caused a lot of controversy a couple weeks ago.
And because of his action.
So he was the first player to take a knee on the field during the national anthem.
Yeah.
Why did he do that?
I mean, that's kind of the key issue, right, guys?
So he did this because he was actually trying to give a voice to, and give kind of a chance to acknowledge police brutality that is happening specifically towards African-American men.
Exactly.
So he was using his role on this national platform, right?
Everybody's watching on TV.
Millions of Americans are watching this.
And he's trying to use that role to To draw attention to a larger social issue.
And a lot of people had a problem with that.
And a lot of people admired it.
Right.
Yeah.
I mean, there are two sides of this.
Right.
So a lot of especially, you know, people who are used to just showing up at the game, watching the game on TV and, just you know respecting, for example, our veterans and our country with the national anthem, they see it as an attack and a disrespect towards the country and the national anthem.
They see it as a lack of patriotism, as an unpatriotic act.
But what does the other side see it?
As I think a lot of people who – those who support Kaepernick see it at not – it's not against America.
It's not saying like, oh, I don't like this country or I don't like veterans.
It has nothing to do with that opinion, right?
I think it is –
I've heard it explained this way, which I really like, that in one way it is respectful towards veterans because saying you fought for our country, thank you.
Thank you for fighting for our country.
And I want this country you fought for to be the best.
Yes.
And there are things that are not the best about it, right?
So it's saying like we could be better.
Like I love this country and therefore I want you to be better.
So I like that take on it.
It's sort of pulling from a positive place and sort of a hopeful future by recognizing that –
African-Americans are disproportionately targeted by the police.
There are so many studies that prove this and saying that the violence, the police brutality, that phrase brutality against African-Americans needs to be brought out into the light and addressed.
Yeah, I love that idea that it's a way to kind of challenge our country to be better, to improve as a country, to be aware of our subconscious biases.
You know what I mean?
And the police force should be undergoing kind of training to be aware of certain biases that they may possess.
Because yeah, if you guys just go to Google and type in police brutality, US or, for example, police shootings in the US, in the last few years it's actually been coming up very often.
It feels like every three months or so there is a black man shot by at the hands of a white police officer.
At the time that that Kaepernick...
I keep saying his name wrong.
At the time that he began this protest where he took a knee, right?
Take a knee, guys.
That's just when you support yourself by one knee on the ground.
Right.
So you can see this in any picture of what these protests look like.
So at the time that he took a knee, there were several high profile cases in the States about black men being shot by police officers and they shouldn't have been shot.
Obviously, that's why it was an issue.
So if you look this up, you'll see the image of him taking a knee.
Yeah.
I mean.
Some of these events that have happened though, are so extreme in the sense that maybe the man that was shot the African-American man in some cases didn't even have a firearm on him.
Right, right.
Right.
And that's kind of what the issue is about.
It's about an immediate rush to to shoot someone often due to an unconscious bias.
Right.
And regardless of I mean, there's a lot of bad sides to, you know, news being instantly available and misinformation, but.
The positive side of that aspect of our technological culture is that a lot of these incidences were caught on video by people involved in the incident or either outside the incident, sometimes the police camera itself.
And therefore it was like immediately.
It was visceral because people could experience this through the video.
So it made a much larger impact on society by saying like, this is the proof.
It's on video.
This is what happened.
A guy was just in his car with his wife and daughter doing nothing.
Right.
And he was shot.
Yeah.
And, you know, police departments are, from what I've heard, probably not every one of them, but some of them are making an effort to put in place certain things like actual cameras on every cop.
For example, taking note of everything the cop does and everything around him at that moment, or different training that's going on.
So I think police departments around the US are actually trying to prevent this or kind of yeah, mediate this.
They're addressing it for sure.
And in the corporate world as well.
A friend of mine works for Nike here in Portland and he has to undergo an unconscious biases process.
Training session at Nike.
So this wider movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, Kaepernick taking a knee as part of this.
So if you guys just Google Black Lives Matter timeline, you're going to see the history of this.
And this is calling many... organizations to take action with their workforce, right?
So police yes, first and foremost.
That needs to be addressed first, but also in the wider world, like private enterprises.
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Yeah, yes, no, totally 100%.
And that is going moving into corporate world, the corporate world as well.
I mean, I personally think this is a great thing to be, you know, for Colin Kaepernick to use his platform, as we've said, to draw attention to this issue.
I reject the idea that it's a problem that, for example, our Sunday afternoon football game gets slightly disturbed.
I feel like a lot of people just don't want the issue to come into sports, but that's where you reach the general public.
That's where you reach the people who need to know about this, right?
Because maybe certain people are not necessarily going to hunt down this information and educate themselves on the issue.
But if you interrupt their Sunday afternoon football game, then you might get them more aware of it.
And honestly, that's my perspective.
Yeah.
Oh, I completely agree.
So the one way you could describe what Kaepernick is doing is he's boycotting the national anthem.
You know what?
I don't see it like that.
I think that's quite an extreme way to look at it, but that's how it's been written about.
So to boycott something is to refuse to take part in it in order to draw attention to another issue, right?
So it is a form of protest.
Right, so you're saying that boycott, like historically, has been used for more like organized events where groups boycott certain things?
Is that what you mean?
Yeah, I think, I don't know.
I think to boycott something...
I feel like that makes it more negative than it is.
I feel like it would turn people off of it if you describe his action as boycotting the national anthem, because that's this other side.
That's kind of supporting the other side saying that like, oh, he hates America.
That's why he's doing this.
And that's not true.
Like he's not boycotting our country by doing this, right?
He's drawing attention to an issue that exists.
So, yeah, I think he's using his platform in a very positive way.
So platform, guys, this issue of platform, this is important.
Stars today, celebrities, actors, athletes, they all have platforms.
They have fans.
People want to know about their private lives and their opinions and their views.
And a lot of people increasingly today as people.
We're so polarized and politics are up front of everything.
A large number of famous people are using their platform, as they have a reach over millions of people.
They're using this to draw attention to the issues that they care about most.
Yeah, which is so cool.
Because again, there's a direct connection between the athletes or the stars and their fans.
It's not that they have to go through press releases anymore, or through the NFL, or through the USTA or whatever.
It is direct athlete to fan.
So there's a lot of communication there a lot of influence that they could have.
Yeah, no, exactly.
I love it.
And some of my favorite soccer stars, my favorite female soccer stars, have used their platforms as well to draw attention to feminist issues and equality.
So I yeah, I love it.
I love it.
It's hugely popular, I guess, also because I usually agree with the platforms that they're using.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And then, I mean, of course, there are other platforms that promote other views, too.
I mean, that's kind of the mixed blessings.
Of course.
We've had issues of like false news and people spreading rumors as well.
So there are two sides to this.
But guys, the point is, you know, this is an issue that's pretty similar to the issues in our course the Connected Communicator.
This is a deep issue that you want to be able to have a conversation about.
So let's just review the vocab today, guys.
Jessica, that our listeners could use to talk about this.
So it's boycott is the first one, right?
Yes.
So to kind of, I would also say to kind of demonstrate, right?
It's kind of a demonstration.
Typically I think of a demonstration as a group of people with signs, but I would call this a demonstration too, because he's actually taking an action Kind of against something.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So guys, it would be interesting for you to comment on this episode about famous instances of boycotts in your country, because you know historically, boycotts and protests this is how things change.
This is how things – get changed just because politicians see that a large number of people in the country are not going to take this anymore.
So I would love to see your comments, guys.
If you can name any celebrities these days in your country that are using their platform to draw attention to something.
I would also love to read about that.
Yeah, I mean, you know the fact that I wonder what percentage of NFL players are African American or African Americans.
They're all men, obviously.
But I wonder, what percentage are African American?
Because I mean that's, that's the piece, right there, right.
I mean, this is the thing.
These men are playing a game and playing a sport, but in their private lives.
They are in some cases in these altercations with cops and being victimized.
So it's like if they're here to put on this, this show of this football game like, and then they're being subjected to this kind of abuse on the outside, like in their private lives.
It's just it's a controversial issue.
It's real.
It's a good, good issue, guys, to go into.
Yeah, no, it's fascinating.
I've heard in different TV shows and podcasts and stuff people talking about the situation driving while black DWB.
And they say it doesn't matter if you're a rich football star.
It doesn't matter if you live in the projects.
It doesn't matter if you are a black person behind the wheel of a nice car.
The police are going to pay attention to you.
Right.
In a negative way.
So there I mean, there's just so many issues connected to this.
And this, like Lindsay and I were saying, this is why a boycott, a demonstration like this is so important, because it starts these conversations.
So, guys, this is also addressed in the course.
We do talk about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Yeah, and allow you to research that and learn about that.
So yeah yeah, that's true we do.
We definitely talk about, like well, the history of slavery and all of that.
I mean we don't go specifically into police brutality, i don't think, but we definitely go into this issue, this issue, and we give you guys some of the tools that you'll need.
Okay, awesome.
So guys, to get more information on that question course, go to allearsenglishcom.
Forward slash connection Jessica.
Any closing thoughts here?
Anything we want to leave our listeners with?
Um yeah, actually I have been interested in the distinction between how the NFL and is handling this and the NBA is handling this.
So the NFL, the football league, they are totally against these protests for the most part, whereas the NBA is not.
They are allowing their players more freedom to voice their opinions.
So that reflects interestingly on the sports and the leagues to me.
Oh, interesting.
Okay, so we'll have to dig into this again.
Let's watch this issue and see what happens this year in the 2018 football season 2019.
And maybe we'll do an update on it.
So we'll come back to it.
So guys engage, you know, with native speakers on this topic and others like, don't be afraid to go into these deeper topics.
That's what you guys are here for. right, to push your level that much higher.
And we're giving you the tools to do it.
So don't shy away from these conversations.
Exactly.
Dive in, you guys.
These are the conversations that are memorable, right?
These are the ones that will change how you look at the world.
Like that's how huge it could be.
So definitely dive in, you guys.
Yeah, I love it.
So guys, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash connection to learn more about that course.
And we'll see you back on here next week.
All right, Jessica, thanks for hanging out.
All right.
Thanks, Lindsay.
Have a good day.
Bye.
Bye.
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