The NFL boycott is steeped in misogynoir and I’m not participating
I refuse to observe the NFL boycott because it is steeped in hypocrisy and misogynoir.
By Roni Dean-Burren, Ph.D.
Since Earl Campbell donned the iconic Houston Oiler Blue, my Sundays have always been the same: Church and football.
Church was mandatory in my parents’ house. We got up on Sunday mornings, ate breakfast, and headed off to Sunday School. And while I believe my father worshiped his God in spirit and in truth, I believe his spirit truly could not wait to cheer for his beloved Houston Oilers after service. As a young football fan, I didn’t really understand the game, but sitting near my dad while Earl Campbell punished defenders was enough to make me fall in love with it.
The church-football tradition continued when I got married. My husband, a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, committed his way to the Lord from 8-10 am on Sunday mornings, then for the remainder of the day, committed his soul to a Cowboys victory.
That is what my Sundays have looked like for thirty-nine years. And now that a large faction of cishet Black men have collectively called for a boycott of the National Football League, I can tell you that I ain’t participating. At all.
I refuse to observe the NFL boycott because it is steeped in hypocrisy and misogynoir.
A year ago, San Francisco 49er quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, began taking a knee during the singing of the national anthem. When asked why he chose not to stand, Kaepernick, in no uncertain terms, explained that his kneeling was a silent protest of savage police behavior towards Black people. During nearly every interview, Kaepernick, affectionately known as Kaep, never missed to the opportunity to criticize police and their inhumane treatment of Black folks in this country.
Likewise, White America and the Blue Lives Matter Brigade never stopped criticizing Kaep. He became their punching bag, and even though many veterans voiced support for Kaep’s right to kneel, the writing on the wall was clear: Kaep would pay. Forever.
Summer 2017 solidified his fate. Despite his not too shabby stats, not one single team signed Kaep for the 2017-2018 season. Owners and coaches alike pretended that he just didn’t fit on their roster, or with their offense, but we all knew the truth—they weren’t signing Kaep because he publicly, proudly, and persistently called out white America’s mistreatment of Black people.
After it became abundantly clear that Kaep’s activism would prevent him from playing another down, calls to boycott the league rolled in. By in large those calls came from Black men. Their voices were loud and strong. We “all” needed to boycott the NFL because those white owners did “us” wrong.
I could do nothing but laugh at their outrage. It was comical to me that the wokeness meter was set on a male-led boycott couched in a violent male-dominated—and historically anti-woman—sport.
My response was simple. I told Black men, “I’m not doing this NFL boycott with y’all. M’kay? I’m not signing nothing. I’m not sharing nothing. I’m not participating.”
Black men, in typical fashion, met my response with furor. How dare you not support this? This is not a woman vs. man issues, it’s an all of us issue.
Except it’s not.
When Ray Rice punched out his then fiancee, now wife in a Las Vegas hotel elevator, the NFL suspended him for two games. Only when the recording of his savage attack surfaced did the NFL decide to suspend him indefinitely. Here again, Black men’s voices were loud and strong. “Rice deserves to play” and “nobody should pay forever” was their refrain. They made no calls to protect Janay Rice. They made no attempts to organize an NFL boycott on behalf of women or sexual and domestic violence experienced at the hands of league players. Their only concern was a Black man’s reputation and playability.
That is why I’m sitting this boycott out. Black men have never wanted to boycott the NFL for its issues with violence against women.
So no.
I think it’s more important for me, a Black woman with a big voice, to sit this one out.
Because this current boycott is the perfect example of how Black men continually expect Black women to be their mules. They demand it of us. They were silent during our pain, but expect us to march, organize, and boycott when they feel under attack. Their male privilege coupled with male entitlement and expecting labor from Black women on their behalf is textbook misogynoir.
Since Black men want to set the woke meter, let me reset it. You can’t be a woke Black man and not stand for Black women. If you watched the NFL following Ray Rice’s videotaped violence against his wife, you ain’t woke.
The really sad part is Black men think they are doing something with this boycott. But the truth is, they showing Black women how deeply they are not at all committed to us or our safety. And if our safety isn’t prioritized that means our liberation is trivialized.
Auntie Maya Angelou told us, “When people show you who they are, believe them.”
I believe you Black men.
This boycott reeks of Black male privilege and misogynoir, and I’ll have no parts of it.
Roni Dean-Burren, Ph.D. is a lecturer at the University of Houston. Her scholarly research and community activism center Black women and Black children. Support her work at paypal.me/RoniBurren.
Listen!!!
CTFU! Wow! smh.
So she apparently was fine and still is fine
watching the NFL, despite her outrage at Ray Rice, and she’s not going to stop watching now because of black men! Sounds like a whole lot if excuses!
As a parent in Texas, I’ll forever be in Mrs. Buren’s debt when it comes to the portrayal of our ancestors in textbooks. However, I disagree with the premise and spirit of this article. When the Cowboys ‘ran’ away from Ray Rice, I supported his return after he rehabbed his thinking and his image. I also stand with Kaep and am boycotting this year. While we’re at it, are any of us watching the WNBA (serious question)? Many of those athletes in same sex relationships suffer abuse and it goes either unreported, unnoticed or simply not taken seriously. Just saying…here’s a piece looking at the complexity of the Ray Rice situation when the Cowboys were mentioned as a possible new team.
https://signature.fm/ray-rice-ready-make-another-run-cowboys-finish-line/
Sounds like Roni needs some quality Vitamin D ??
She had to reach extremely far across a great plain of cow shit to build this perspective. How she can connect protesting police brutality with the lack of protest for domestic abuse is nuts. Not to mention, if she were concerned about women being abused they why isn’t she mentioning all of the white players who NEVER receive discipline for domestic abuse and rape? What a silly little broad.
So, Dr. Dean-Burren believes that ignoring two wrongs make a right?
The people oppressed, harmed, and killed by police are of both genders. So. the “men only” argument that Dr. Dean-Burren tries to justify is specious and has no solid basis.
The offenses of the NFL are many and longstanding. The boycott of the NFL should have started long ago.
There should have been a boycott to protest the NFL’s neo-plantation, neo-gladiator system.
There should have been a boycott to protest the NFL’s inadequate life-long health care for players.
There should have been a boycott to protest the NFL’s failure to address the massive CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) problem suffered by players.
There should have been a boycott to protest the NFL’s code of player conduct that is unduly vague and irregularly applied.
There should have been a boycott to protest the NFL’s failure to create and enforce regulations and penalties for player abuse of women.
There should have been a boycott to protest the NFL’s failure to demand that the Washington, DC franchise change its racist mascot/team name.
There were no boycotts. Dr. Dean-Burren continued to watch the NFL faithfully for decades in spite of these many flagrant offenses.
BUT NOW, she’s got her dudgeon on because men are acting in support of a man demanding justice for people of color, male and female alike.
In writing this opinion piece, Dr. Dean-Burren has revealed her narrowly-defined, pet peeve and the inconsistent thinking her myopia creates.
If Dr. Dean-Burren really thought about it and wanted to make a difference, as opposed to an attention-getting fuss, she’d join the boycott, bring in other women, and expand the scope of grievances. Now, THAT would be meaningful action!!
But the boycott is not in response to police behavior (that’s not how boycotts work…), it’s in response to this black man not getting a job.
Boycotts were called for for both the racist team names AND the abuse if women, and there are people to this day still boycotting for those reasons. The author’s point is that black men (in general) weren’t really down for those causes like they are for this man not getting his job.
Ok, so…are you saying that you’ve *been* boycotting the NFL in light of rampant violence against women? Because the way this piece reads, it seems like you’re saying that you *won’t* be boycotting the NFL, which means you’re continuing to watch a sport and support a culture that is misogynistic, and, as such, renders your whole piece a completely insane bit of hypocrisy.
This post is ‘Coonyism’ at itz height…
On one hand I understand what she is saying. I know what she is saying about the backwardness and betrayals of African American men and African American grown ass dependent and destructive males; where it concerns African American Women and Children and the Community as a whole. It is just plain Truth. But, as an African American Woman myself; As someone who regularly speak too, to the issues she has raised… I say bullshit to what she says. I say she is at best a hypocrite and at worse a liar. Black women, such as this Dr. Dean-Barren; educated and successful and miss name themselves with such insulting and oxymoric things as Feminist are as corrupt and destructive as the Black males and men they rail against, and the Black Women and Girls they do not Speak up for themselves. Not only that; but it has become quite obvious that when it comes to the heinous things that are perpetrated against Black Women and Girls both inside and outside the community They Never Open Their Mouths When the Perpetrators are White or any other Race or Ethnicity. Most of women like this woman take marching orders and ques from White Women Feminists, who demand them to do this and they are Compliant. Why? They ignorantly believe, actually believe that White Women want or need some kind of solidarity with them, when there is nothing further from the truth. White women want solidarity with White men(.). Since, the writer mentioned Rice, who beat his then fiancee. And who should have not only should have lost his job, but he should have been charged and found guilty of assault. And these Black Women wrote so much about it; protested so much about the NFL created several lucrative and powerful jobs- And Gave Every one of them to White Women. Everyone. At this same time and after; in the spanse of several months, there were 8 White men who admitted to raping or were found guilty of raping women and girls and a 4 month old Black Girl Baby; and Every last one of them went home for dinner except two; and of those two one had to postpone his viddles for 2 Days and the other, the Stanford Rapist, what, 2 months!!!! Not one. word from these so-called defenders of Black Womanhood. White women will Never go against White men and boys No Matter what they do them; because they want equality with them. And the Most Despicable way they showed their allegiance to this concept is by ushering Donald Trump into office. And Black Women was falling all over themselves; even some I consider heroes, like Angela Davis; to donn a pink hoodie. Haven’t heard nothing about the Black Women’s March….right.
What Kaep is doing is protesting the State Sanctioned Murder and Execution of Black Women, Men, Girls and Boys by Cop.
This misguided rant is just a signal to the White Supremacy Glare that Black so-called feminist adhere to; that they know their place and understand their marching orders.
“Misogynoir”? But she remembers how, seated next to her father on sunday she fell in love with football. Uh, I ain’t got no PhD, but Isn’t that kinda the definition of patriarchal influence? And even as football is the embodiment of americas celebration of violence and misogyny, she herself confesses to still watch despite her supposed disgust with these traits. How and why no one pointed these things out to the author is kinda baffling.
Attempts to deny athletes right to protest racial injustice isn’t enough for YOU to boycott. Additionally, multiple accounts of domestic abuse isn’t enough for YOU to boycott. Basically, I would be hard pressed to give YOU a reason to stop watching. Don’t blame anyone else for the actions that YOU take.
It took the feminist a Minute to encourage one of their Negressw Stooges to stand and oppose the Will of the people!
Amazing how many people missed the point of this article.
This is not about boycotting the NFL or police brutality. This is about how black men don’t support, and often play roles in oppressing, black women, yet they expect/demand that black women support black men. The writer’s only error is she didn’t break it on down plain and simple for idiots who click and comment on this type of stuff.
I just smirk every time I think of all these black guys in the NFL and NBA crying and whining about “racial equality,” yet most of them either 1) won’t date/marry black women and will talk about black women like dogs if you ask why not, 2) have a barely-black-looking girlfriend/wife (i.e. Steph Curry) and would probably never mess with a brown or dark-skinned black woman, or 3) date/marry black women but cheat left, right and sideways with white women (I wonder when LeBron will get busted with/dump Savannah for some white chick) and/or beat the hell out of that black woman (a la Ray Rice).
I’m just at a point where I want all of these NFL and NBA guys to STFU and play. Black men have never had any respect for black women, and they don’t want equality for all blacks–they want it for black men. There’s probably not a black man alive who views black women as equal to black men. I get it, it’s not news, it’s not going to stop me from watching football, but I’m not going to get upset because Kaepernick can’t play QB anymore or because another racist cop shoots another black male. Cop harassing a black female? Yeah, I’ll have a problem with that. Black men don’t care about black women and only care about black men (and white women), so I’m done caring about how black men are treated–simple as that.