The Kaepernick Effect
Taking a Knee, Changing the World
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Riveting and inspiring first-person stories of how “taking a knee” triggered a political awakening among athletes of all ages and levels, from the celebrated sportswriter “With profiles of courage that leap of the page, Zirin uncovers a whole national movement of citizen-athletes fighting for racial justice.”
—Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning
Hailed by Publishers Weekly in a starred review as “an enthralling look at the impact of peaceful protest by sports figures at the high school, college, and professional levels,” The Kaepernick Effect explores the story of how quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s simple act of “taking a knee” spread like wildfire throughout American society, becoming the preeminent public symbol of resistance to America’s persistent racial inequality.
In this powerful book, critically acclaimed sports journalist and author Dave Zirin chronicles “the Kaepernick effect” for the first time, through “a riveting collection of first-person stories” (The Nation) from high school athletes and coaches, college stars and high-powered athletic directors, and professional athletes across many different sports—from Megan Rapinoe to Michael Bennett. In each case, he uncovers the fascinating explanations and motivations behind what became a mass political movement in sports.
“Necessary reading for all, especially those who want to make a difference in promoting social justice, equity, and inclusion, and end police brutality” (Library Journal, starred review), The Kaepernick Effect is for anyone seeking to get involved in the new movement for racial justice in America: “Take a knee, everyone, and start a revolution” (Kirkus Reviews).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Zirin (Jim Brown), sports editor at The Nation, delivers an enthralling look at the impact of peaceful protest by sports figures at the high school, college, and professional levels. Despite almost leading his team to a Super Bowl title, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's 2016 decision to protest the police shootings of unarmed Black men by taking a knee before football games while the national anthem was played rendered him a pariah in the NFL and left him unemployed. It also, Zirin notes, laid the groundwork for a reckoning within the sport. With deeply moving firsthand accounts from players of all ages from across the country, Zirin underscores how Kaepernick's ostracism has paralleled the treatment of others who have followed his lead, such as one Ohio high schooler who kneeled in protest against white teammates using the N-word and received death threats in response. At the collegiate level, Black players have risked athletic scholarships to speak out against racism, and yet, Zirin writes, "because so many economic levers get pulled only if the athletes play, their power... is overwhelming." In pointing this out, he brings into focus the colossal influence athletes actually have in upending a historically oppressive institution. The result offers rousing evidence of the life-changing effects spurred by individual action.
