Born in the NFL, but being raised across the USA, #TakeTheKnee is not a rights-holder marketing initiative, a piece of sponsorship activation or a sports brand ad, but a player protest that has become a societal protest campaign.
Kneeling for the national anthem in the NFL began back in August 2016 as an individual act protest against social and racial inequality by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
#Kaepernick started kneeling in protest during Obama's presidency. This wasn't abt Trump until Trump tried to make it abt Trump.#TakeAKnee pic.twitter.com/HryZ3iPZFw
— Caroline O. (@RVAwonk) September 24, 2017
It incubated slowly through the NFL, the sports press the media and now has now exploded nationwide since President Trump said players should be fired for taking a knee.
Love this: @realDonaldTrump on NFL players disrespecting our flag/anthem: "get that son of a bitch off the field right now – YOU'RE FIRED!"
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 23, 2017
If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL,or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
…our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their National Anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017
The NFL itself may have responded with an official league statement
New NFL statement pic.twitter.com/XHPgVvPPfH
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) September 23, 2017
and by re-airing a commercial about unity first launched in February 2017 for Super Bowl LI and called ‘Inside The Lines’.
The spot, created by agency Translation, aired on NBC during the flagship Sunday Night Football match between the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders.
Narrated by Forest Whitaker, it includes the copy: “Inside these lines, we don’t have to come from the same place to help each other reach the same destination. Inside these lines, we may have our differences, but recognize there’s more that unites us. Inside these lines, it’s a game of inches, and there’s no such thing as an easy yard when you’re fighting to move forward. Inside these lines, we’re not only defined by our victories, but by the way we handle our defeats. Inside these lines, we can bring out the best in each other, and live united, inside…these lines.”
The commercial features archive player support footage and closes with a shot of stadium in which the outline of the 50 states are incorporated into the field: a message that the diversity on the football field reflects and represents America.
But much more powerful was the weekend response from NFL players (and the roll out of #ImWithKap merchandise),
The behavior of the President is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. If you do not Condemn this divisive Rhetoric you are Condoning it!!
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) September 23, 2017
.@OBJ_3 ONLY NEEDS ONE HAND.
Wait until you see this replay. Incredible. #GiantsPride pic.twitter.com/ITqQPFpSUX
— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2017
Dolphins players are wearing #imwithkap shirts in support of Colin Kaepernick during today's pregame #MIAvsNYJ https://t.co/ZYiAk0IiWu pic.twitter.com/qXdC5Z3JZq
— Sun Sentinel (@SunSentinel) September 24, 2017
owners and teams throughout the league was a fairly uniform protest against the President in particular and against racial inequality in general.
United. pic.twitter.com/5rQI3G6oMb
— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) September 25, 2017
Surreal scene here in Nashville as entire #Seahawks, Titans teams including coaches, staff, all players skip national anthem pic.twitter.com/UCdANOKdAV
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 24, 2017
It has quickly spread across US sports: from basketball (initially revolving around the traditional invite to the White House for the NBA champions the Golden State Warriors)
Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 23, 2017
to baseball,
Bruce Maxwell becomes first MLB player to take a knee for national anthem : @sfchronicle) https://t.co/AYT9ACMMDd pic.twitter.com/c9ZgUMBS2E
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 24, 2017
Nascar,
#BREAKING: NASCAR owners threaten to fire drivers, crew members who protest national anthem https://t.co/TJcSOHQPER pic.twitter.com/vipaCDGaKC
— The Hill (@thehill) September 24, 2017
So proud of NASCAR and its supporters and fans. They won't put up with disrespecting our Country or our Flag – they said it loud and clear!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2017
All Americans R granted rights 2 peaceful protests
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable-JFK— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) September 25, 2017
and music.
Stevie!!! #imwithkap #takeaknee https://t.co/c8PP2kLWis pic.twitter.com/TmjGgLcaY3
— KnowYourRightsCamp (@yourrightscamp) September 24, 2017
Most sponsors and sports brands stayed silent on the issue, but a few like NFL supplier Nike publicly aligned themselves with the right to protest in an official statement that read “”Nike supports athletes and their right to freedom of expression on issues that are of great importance to our society”, while Puma backed the cause on Instagram.
According to social analytics firm Talkwalker, the #TakeAKnee hashtag has gone viral and gone global and reaches well beyond the world of sport (and Sports Illustrated),
THIS WEEK'S COVER: In a nation divided, the sports world is coming together https://t.co/sKPjrhHhmZ pic.twitter.com/3yzkvV1OCl
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 26, 2017
into a wider, general public debate.
More than 4 million social posts relating to the issue using the hashtags #TakeAKnee (2.4 million) and #TakeTheKnee (1.2 million), as well as #BoycottNFL (101,500 mentions) and #MAGA (90,900) dropped over the weekend and all four of these hashtags trended.
Talkwalker predicts it won’t stop here (and it seems Trump will continue to add fuel to the debate).
The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2017
“This is just beginning. This is the tip of the iceberg, and it’s going to continue to trend,” said Talkwalker CEO Todd Grossman.
“I haven’t seen a statement yet from the NFL – I’ve been online all day – and once that does come out, there’s going to be more. And we don’t know what President Trump may say when it does come out.”
He added: “When you see more than 4 million social posts in a matter of 24 to 48 hours – it’s a lot. It’s going to continue. By the end of the day, I wouldn’t be surprised if that doubles.”
The teams with the most social chatter around #TakeAKnee were the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears.
Comment:
Clearly the league was hoping to a very different start to its 2017/18 season in early September when it launched its new drama-led and entertainment-focused kick-off ‘Let The Show Begin’ campaign with a spot called ‘Hope’ (see case study).
According to Grossman the NFL is in a very tough spot – caught between the fans and the players (and facing slipping TV ratings) – but he predicts it will continue to focus on unity.
Perhaps they could learn some messaging and creative lessons from some stand-out, stunning recent ‘unity’ campaigns from brands such as the YMCA,
and TV2Danmark.
Links:
NFL:
http://www.nflshop.com/source/bm-nflc…
http://www.nfl.com/fantasyfootball
https://www.nfl.com/gamepass?campaign…
https://www.youtube.com/user/NFL
