Comparing White and Black athlete racial activism: Examining NFL and NBA players’ choice of social justice uniform messages

Black racial justice activists often report that White activists engage in more tepid activism that fails to directly point out systemic racism. We examined whether this trend manifested in professional athletes’ decisions regarding social justice messages they display on their uniforms. We tested whether the helmet decal (NFL) and jersey slogan (NBA) choices made by athletes as they participated in league-wide uniform modifications to promote social justice differed as a function of player race. We found that White NFL players were less likely than Black NFL players to choose specific victim names (e.g., “Breonna Taylor”), were more likely to choose generic phrases de-emphasizing racism (e.g., “It Takes All of Us”), and were less likely to choose generic phrases highlighting racism (e.g., “End Racism”). Similarly, White NBA players were more likely than Black NBA players to choose phrases that de-emphasized racism (e.g., “Peace”), and less likely to choose those that emphasized racism (e.g., “Antiracist”).