© 2026 WPSU
Public Media for Central Pennsylvania
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Long History Of Sports, Politics And Race In America

NPR
Published September 28, 2017 at 1:20 PM EDT

President Trump has refused to back down from his criticism of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem. Since sparking the feud, he’s claimed that kneeling is disgraceful and framed the issue as one of patriotism — not, as some see it, as one of freedom of speech.

Sports, politics and race have a long history together in America. Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson takes a look back with historians Ed Ayers (@edward_l_ayers) and Brian Balogh (@historyfellow), co-hosts of the podcast BackStory, which is produced at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Baltimore Ravens players, including former player Ray Lewis, second from right, kneel down during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (Matt Dunham/AP)
/
Baltimore Ravens players, including former player Ray Lewis, second from right, kneel down during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (Matt Dunham/AP)