Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem sparked widespread political debate. Photograph: Heute.at Creative Commons.
This week I watched American Football. Except, the 60th Superbowl was never going to be about the 96 players on the combined rosters of the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Even when I opened social media on Monday morning, I scrolled through hundreds of posts before I could find any reference to the Seahawks’ 29-13 victory.
Maybe it is my algorithm. American Football has long been on the periphery of my interest, and I have always been more intrigued by the sport’s surrounding noise. Before this weekend, the most media I have consumed about the NFL was when I wrote essays at university on Colin Kaepernick.
It is a decade since Kaepernick, then the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, first refused to rise for the American national anthem. He said he would not stand for a flag of a country that oppresses black people and people of colour.
Kaepernick spoke out against police brutality and a system which allowed those complicit in the killing of innocent people to escape punishment. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” he said.
At the time, Donald Trump was about to win the Presidency of the United States and told Kaepernick that “he should find a country that works better for him. Let him try – it won’t happen.”
Trump even claimed that Hilary Clinton’s support for Kaepernick was a direct cause of his victory. In his first term, whether it was the Mexican wall, the ‘Muslim Ban’ or referring to Haiti and African nations as a ‘shithole’, he stoked flames.
He caveated his criticism of the murder of George Floyd by policeman Derek Chauvin by labelling those protesting his death as ‘thugs’. He claimed there were “very fine people on both sides” when anti-white supremacy protestors clashed with far-right and neo-Nazi groups in Charlottesville – where James Alex Fields Jr drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters and killed Heather Heyer.
Now in his second term in office, Trump’s administration is even more brazen. The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been unleashed as a weapon of terror. Arrest levels are at record levels. Federal agents are responsible for the killings of several Americans. And Kaepernick’s words echo a decade on.
ICE was criticised often by Bad Bunny ahead of his performance at the Superbowl half-time show. Even before he took the microphone on Sunday, this stance was enough to spark outrage at his selection to perform.
So angered by the singer, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Turning Point USA, the Charlie Kirk-founded conservative organisation, even produced its own alternative ‘All American’ half-time show. The event, featuring three Trump-supporting country singers and headlined by Kid Rock, attracted just over six million concurrent viewers, according to The Athletic.
Of those six million, it appears that not one of those was Trump, who reviled Bad Bunny’s performance. He labelled the show as one of the worst and called it an “affront to the Greatness of America”. Trump added that “nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting”, as well as claiming it was a “slap in the face” to the entire country.
Bad Bunny’s performance, which reportedly garnered 135 million viewers and broke Kendrick Lamar’s record set last year, was a homage to Puerto Rico. He called for Pan-American unity and held up a football emblazoned with: “Together, we are America.” He closed his performance with “The only thing more powerful than hate is love” displayed around the stadium.
The concept of a half-time show is not one I have ever particularly cared for, but it was impossible to watch this year’s Superbowl without thinking of the FIFA World Cup set to be held in the US this summer. The tournament’s final will also have a half-time show.
With Gianni Infantino so latched to Trump’s coattails, it is unlikely the FIFA President would dare to pick an artist so outspoken, entertaining and willing to question the US government. Infantino has even enlisted the help of Coldplay to help pick what will likely be a selection of sanitised, safe artists aimed at placating Trump.
Come June, who knows what state America will be in. The only thing that feels certain is that the febrile Infantino, standing next to his anointed ‘champion of peace’, will be happily clapping along, exulting once again at rubbing shoulders with the world’s most powerful figures.
FIFA has always been able to rely on the brilliance of the sport to cover up its mess. The Qatar World Cup is celebrated by Infantino as the best ever, owing to the brilliance of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, as the deaths of thousands of migrant workers are persistently forgotten.
The Superbowl is the biggest sporting event in the American sporting calendar and even that cannot block out the tirade of noise from the Oval Office. With the President burning international bridges on the political field, even football’s brilliance might not be able to muffle the discontent.
If Bad Bunny singing about love and Puerto Rico can spark such political outrage from conservative figures, what will happen when the biggest sporting tournament in the world arrives in the US? Will all its players and teams be allowed to enter? How will international fans navigate streets with ICE on alert?
A decade ago, Trump told Kaepernick that “maybe he should find a country that works better for him.” Perhaps, it is time for the footballing world to heed his advice.
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Jack McRae writes... 