Brands are increasingly taking stances on contentious social issues and facing mass outrage on social media. New research shows that this outrage can benefit brands.
For the NFL, playing the national anthem started as a patriotic marketing ploy. It’s now played before every game alongside ‘Lift Every Voice,’ the Black national anthem, and ‘America the Beautiful.’
The NBA stands behind the rights of players to protest. But the league finds itself in a delicate position, trapped between the competing demands of its advertisers, TV partners, owners and players.
The Black Lives Matter movement reminds us that using national anthems at sporting events is often insensitive and whitewashes the prevalence of racism in sport.
Several Indigenous rugby league players have vowed not to sing the national anthem during this week’s State of Origin match. Will the protest spark a conversation, or fizzle out?
Much of the discussion about “Take a Knee” has overlooked the issues of justice and social exclusion, and especially environmental matters. That’s something to think about during the Super Bowl.
The main reason owners and athletes stay away from mixing politics and sport is that it allows them to sell their product more easily. In doing so, pro sports conforms to classic capitalist ideology.
Almost 50 years ago, a white, non-American athlete supported Black athletes protesting racial injustice. Peter Norman paid a price for taking a stand. Canada’s Sidney Crosby is no Peter Norman.