Professional sports have done a lot to help combat social issues like police brutality, racial injustice and other political and human issues. 

In 2016, San Francisco 49er quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, first drew attention to the Black Lives Matter movement during a preseason game when he sat for the National Anthem; throughout the following season he continued to kneel in protest. 

Kaepernick received extreme backlash due to his actions, as a result just after the 2016 season he was not re-signed by the 49ers, nor signed to another team, leaving him out of a job in the NFL.

Many other NFL teams denied their players the right to kneel in protest alongside Kaepernick.

In 2017, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, “We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind, that the [NFL] and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag.”

Jones has held this stance on respecting the flag and not allowing his players to kneel during the National Anthem.

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Dontari Poe, started kneeling during the Anthem starting in the 2020 season; making him the only Cowboys player to ever kneel during the National Anthem.

The NBA has started to become more active on social issues during their 2020  season.

Jacob Blake, an African American man, was brutally shot by Wisconsin police officers 7 times after leaning into his SUV; three of Blake’s children were in the back seat at the time their father was shot.

After  the shooting of  Jacob Blake, many professional sports teams went on protest against police brutality and racial inequalities.

The NBA took a strong stance in stopping the Playoffs. 

The owners and players came together to discuss a deal to resume the Playoff schedule. 

Oklahoma City star, Chris Paul said, “We’re all tired of seeing the same thing over and over again, and everybody just expects us to be OK just because we get paid great money, you know, we’re human.

“We have real feelings. And I’m glad that we got the chance to get in a room together to talk with one another.”

Just three days after they initially walked out of their games, the players and owners came to a conclusion about resuming play. 

The resumption of the first rounds of the playoffs came at the price of helping get the message out about voting. 

The NBA agreed to transform arenas across the country into voting centers large enough for communities and safe enough due to COVID-19.

While the NBA is getting a lot of press for their involvement right now, the WNBA has been speaking as well.

In July, the WNBA dedicated their games to Breonna Taylor and the “Say Her Name” campaign.

The “Say Her Name” campaign draws public attention to the specific police brutality toward black females.

The women showed their support by wearing warm up shirts with “Black Lives Matter” on the front and “Say Her Name” on the back. 

Many of the teams took a 26 minute moment of silence to honor Breonna Taylor, as she was only 26 when she was shot by police in her own home. 

These professional sports teams are stepping up to the plate and using their platforms to promote community engagement and acting out against social injustices.