The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism

by Howard Bryant

Following in the footsteps of Robeson, Ali, Robinson and others, today's Black athletes re-engage with social issues and the meaning of American patriotism

For most of the twentieth century, "No News on the Sports Page" governed how sports were played and perceived in America. The ballfield was a sanctuary from real-world problems. Today, that is a naive notion.

The reasons are complex. But among them, post 9/11, sports arenas transformed into staging grounds for American patriotism and pride. As America dealt with terrorism at home, hero-worship of law enforcement took center stage. Police officers threw out first pitches; soldiers' surprise homecomings became a staple at half time; and teams wore camouflage jerseys to honor those who served. Any critique of police or military authority looked unpatriotic, even when the authority deserved criticism.

This paradigm shift activated a long-dormant force not seen in several decades: the black athlete as a figure of resistance. In The Heritage, sports journalist Howard Bryant observes how the tradition of neutrality on the pitch has given way to a new generation of activist-athletes. It is the story of the rise, fall, and return of "athlevists" who refuse to "shut up and play." It is a heritage built by the superstardom and radical politics of Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos in the 1960s; undermined by apolitical, corporation-friendly "transcenders of race" O.J. Simpson, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods, in the following decades; and reclaimed today by the likes of LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and Carmelo Anthony in the wake of Ferguson and Freddie Gray. Revealing and incisive, Bryant deftly shows how sports is colliding with political culture, and how athletes, teams and leagues are melding the two.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Race, Audiobook, African American

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 8, 2018

Reviews

[Glenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

So wow. I did not expect this book. It falls into the category of a must read.

I was not a fan of Kaepernick or his actions, but now I feel that was based on not really understsanding ... well, anything about this.

I can't even write a worthy review, so I'll just do highlight some key takeaways, things I didn’t know, that I do now thanks to this book…

* "While the media machine accused Kaepernick of staging a publicity stunt without action behind it, he organized a Know Your Rights Camp for youngsters in Oakland, a daylong workshop on healthy eating habits, how to deal with potential confrontations with local police, and how to be financially responsible."

*"Kaepernick pledged $1 million of his salary to social justice agencies across the country."

*"He [Kapernick] continued to hold workshops and meetings with Bay Area community organizations dedicated to grassroots organizing, and he donated his sneaker collection, worth thousands, to homeless shelters in San Francisco."

*"He [Kapernick] traveled three weeks in Africa, to Morocco, Ghana, and Egypt. He helped raise $3 million that went to Somalia famine relief."

* "Sports teams had been charging the military to stage their events at ballparks, and the Pentagon had been paying the teams millions in taxpayer money—at least $6.8 million, to that point—to do it."

Okay, this is appalling as a use of taxpayer dollars, when there is so much else that we cannot fund....

* "Afterward, the secret embedding began, deceiving fans into thinking the NFL teams were supporting the military because the individual owners believe it was the right thing to do. It was, in fact, a deception that permeated virtually every sporting event in the country."

I'm not against the support, but I am against the hypocrisy. It's PAID FOR.

* "The NFL was a 70 percent black league whose annual revenue was roughly $13 billion. Eighty percent of the players in the NBA were black, and Forbes reported that the league had generated $5.9 billion in revenue in 2016, and that thirty teams had averaged a value of $1.36 billion; in 2017, revenues were expected to top $8 billion. Over a ten-year period, Major League Baseball, with its heavy Latino workforce, saw revenues nearly double, from $5.5 billion in 2006 to more than $10 billion in 2016."

Trump's role in all this (many of the owners contributed to Trump's campaign, and of course I think we are all aware of his very stately "son's of bitches" remark), the billions of dollars sports generates at all levels from the pro's through college... and yet, this is where we are.

*[Players who] supported Colin Kaepernick—and their public support has been erased from virtually every conversation regarding his protest, their position diminished because it didn’t conform.

At the end of the day, it's all about the money. And the NFL is big money, it's livelihood for these guys. But's let's point out the hypocrisy (again) here - you can still play in the NFL if you are convicted of animal cruelty (Michael Vick) or drug possession (Jamal Lewis), or charged with murder (Ray Lewis) but you can't be deemed as unpatriotic.

* “For me, it was Pat Tillman’s nobility, his idealism. He sacrificed millions of dollars and, ultimately, his life for his country,” Astore said. “And then his country betrayed that sacrifice by lying about the circumstances of his death. That lie extended to the highest levels of the Bush/Cheney administration, revealing in high relief its cynicism and crassness and corruption."

More on this here by William Astore.

I will always be a supporter of our troops, the men and women who voluntarily risk their lives and serve our country in ways that they often don’t agree with or want either but do so out of duty.

But....

"You want my politics out of sports? Take your politics out of sports." —COLIN KAEPERNICK

I have to agree - we need to keep war and sports separate, and more needs to be done to acknowledge that we are not in a good place right now in this country when things like Ferguson, MO can and do happen.

"Tackling Paid Patriotism" can be found and read here.

This books is so much more than what I've conveyed here; I can't really do it justice. Very eye-opening.

Complete aside - how much does the Kindle feature "Export Notes" rock? LOVE this.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at black issues and sports figures combined with the patriotism and nationalism that seems to have crept into sports since 2001 not because of 9/11 but as a money maker and recruiting tool for the military. Very lite on female athletes. Barely a mention of Serena and almost no mention of any other female athlete. Interesting but a bit scattered and unfocused.

3.5ish Stars

Read on kindle

[Mehrsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know anything about sports, but I do know a little bit about racial history. I learned so much about both! I had no idea that the military PAID sports teams for their patriotic rituals so they could recruit from sportsfans! I knew about some of the historic and recent protests, but it was interesting to see them all laid out as a part of the heritage. It's such a relevant book and it did leave me wondering whether the ebb and flow of black athlete protests is mirrored in other fields like music and why or why not. Seems like Bryant thinks that athletes held a special place and had a distinct legacy. What's interesting though is that during the era where black athletes were most silent and apolitical (Jordan, OJ, Barkley) is when hip hop was most political. Perhaps the locus of resistance shifted?

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: An account of black athletes in professional sports, from the path-breakers whose very presence was political, to the athletes of the '70's onward whose success tempted them to just play the game, to the recent clash of patriotism and protest that has led to a new generation of athlete-activists.

When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest of the numbers of blacks dying in police-involved shooting, his act was the latest of a long line of black athletes whose presence, and whose advocacy asserted that they were far more than mere bodies, employed for the pleasure of largely white audiences and the profit of white team owners. When Kaepernick could not get another position when his contract expired, he joined "the Heritage"--a long line of black athlete activists who could not settle for simply "playing the game" in the face of the injustices faced by his people, and often suffered the consequences from acting as people with voices and minds, and not merely bodies to be employed for sport.

Howard Bryant, a senior writer for ESPN, chronicles this history in The Heritage. He traces the beginnings of the Heritage in the lives of Paul Robeson, Jesse Owens (who went from US Olympic glory in Hitler's Germany to poverty and bankruptcy), Jackie Robinson who broke the color barrier in baseball, Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali who went to prison for his refusal to be drafted on religious principle, the 1968 raised fist protests of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and Curt Flood, whose refusal to accept a trade led to free agency, but also resulted in his being blackballed from baseball.

Things changed in the 1970's in what Bryant calls the "greenwashing" of professional athletes. Beginning with stars like O.J. Simpson, who received huge contracts and endorsement deals, a new generation of black athlete came on the scene who "just played the game" and took the money. Perhaps they invested it quietly in causes that uplifted the communities in which they played, or grew up. Bryant focuses on three as representative of this period: Simpson, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods, who in an interview described himself as "Cablinasian."

In sports as so much of American life, everything changed on 9/11. The citizenship rite of the national anthem was replaced by elaborate patriotic displays: singing police officers, fly-overs and veterans salutes, huge flags on the fifty yard lines. First responders and those in the armed services became heroes who were recognized in some form at every game. A kind of undifferentiated hero worship failed to grapple with a more nuanced reality of some real heroes, many decent, hard-working people, and some bad apples--just like in most of society. Bryant also cites evidence that this was staged by the military, rather than being simply an honest, spontaneous gesture of sports team. Teams profited by tax money spent for these displays, which were seen as good recruiting tools. An American public indulged these displays, perhaps guilty over treatment of returning Vietnam vets and the fact that most of us were at the mall while a small percent were fighting our wars in far off places.

Bryant argues that this set up the clash between black athletes protesting injustices in policing, and a wider American public. What began as an effort to call attention to ways a country wasn't living up to the values represented by the flag clashed with the patriotism displays that had become commonplace in the nearly twenty years since 9/11. Some efforts were effectual. When players at the University of Missouri threatened to refuse to play because of issues of systemic racism, a university president was ousted. LeBron James could wear "I can't breathe" jerseys with impunity, being at the top of his game and flush with endorsement deals. But a quarterback at the end of his contract was blackballed because he took a knee, a respectful symbol of praying usually reserved for locker rooms or end zones and his action was characterized as unpatriotic and an insult to soldiers. People who wanted Kaepernick to just play the game failed to observe that the game itself had been co-opted for political purposes in an unqualified endorsement of both police and military (and unspoken in all this were the ongoing wars in which the military was engaged).

This is an uncomfortable book perhaps most of all because it raises the issue that black athletes' value continues to be their bodies, and that while they may be rewarded well when they excel in physical feats, the powers that be will continue the attempt to silence them when they use their voices and minds to speak for those who do not share their fame and expose the ways as a nation we fail to live up to our principles.

It also raises the issue of the ways we've changed as a country since 9/11. A simple citizenship rite at the beginning of a game has become wrapped in a celebration of both safety and military forces, and the use of their power to keep a fearful nation safe. Instead of celebrating the shared liberties of an empowered people, we've come to celebrate the power of the state. We've traded "peanuts and cracker jacks" for "shock and awe."

I suspect I've probably made some people mad simply because I reviewed this book and haven't done the white thing of pushing back with all that is wrong with it. I guess I've come to a place where I want to understand why a talented quarterback chooses to throw it all away by a simple gesture (actually unnoticed for several games) that for the life of me looks like prayer. I find myself wondering why such a humble gesture is so threatening that despite the fact that no law was broken, a combination of media, public opinion and even presidential power was brought to bear to suppress it. I find myself wondering what this gesture threatens. I wonder...

____________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Carey Calvert · Rating 5 out of 5]

... the Heritage rediscovers old wounds and rubs just enough salt on them that as you're reading, you'll feel your hands grip the arm of your favorite reading chair so hard you'll swear your fingernails left divots.

Bryant, a senior writer at ESPN and NPR correspondent, is a gifted writer (he's written at least 5 other books), who turns what could be construed as one long essay; assailing, berating and weaving dense strands into a cogent argument demanding recognition. Armed with copious notes including names of those he's interviewed for the book, along with an extensive bibliography and comprehensive index, he dares you to come to a different conclusion. If you do, be prepared to battle.

The Heritage is more philosophy than a movement or organization: it seeks to compel; 'with what you've inherited as a professional athlete comes great responsibility.' Bryant also takes you inside the boardroom when Malcolm Jenkins and Eric Reid square off; demonstrates how funny he finds it that Ali, stripped of his ability to speak due to debilitating Parkinson's, has become a saint but history teaches us, much like MLK, reviled early on.

Bryant is an excellent chronicler, able to singe, chortle and add suspense. The Heritage is painful at times and it rarely lessens its intensity, often smoldering in the embers of "if you don't like it here, leave," amid creeping nationalism and jingoism.

He also exposes the thin line athletes must walk: sponsorships and future career earnings or speak to Abner Louima? I didn't know they stuck it in his mouth. Had I forgotten?

This is the crux of Bryant's tome - in the midst of chaotic times, is it easier to forget? Do we retain our incredulity in spite of what appears to be normalcy? What are we watching? Why do we try to rationalize what we see as if it doesn't happen, isn't happening, or perhaps, as long as it isn't happening to me.

[Kayle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the best (as in most important) book I've read this year.

Bryant tells a nearly complete history of black athletic activism in America and how and why it is what it is today. I loved learning about unknown (to me) historical figures in a different context (Paul Robeson), the opportunity to think differently about figures I was taught to venerate (Jackie Robinson...), and the gift of appreciating contemporary figures I didn't know a lot about, but who through their authenticity have taken on the mantle of "The Heritage".

I wish he had spent more attention on Ashe and Serena Williams (specifically her activism as a black woman), but understand that the book could have easily been a tome of like thousands of pages. Bryant did a good job of talking about general American history and especially about policing history in communities of color, but at times it felt too divergent from the main narrative. Perhaps I just wanted a longer book.

[Ted Lehmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patiotism by Howard Bryant (Beacon Press, 2018, 288 pages, $26.95/18.99) begins and ends with Colin Kaepernick, the black American football player who, when he’d had enough, decided to take a knee during the playing of the national anthem before kickoff of his now former team, the San Francisco 49ers in protest against the treatment of young black men at the hands of police across the country. Between these bookends lies a rich history of the political and social involvement of black athletes from the 1920’s to he present. Bryant writes highly readable prose, supported by anecdote and statistics to show the evolution and devolution of the super-stars during three distinct periods. The book is persuasive and interesting. Many people who read it will nod as the book rushes by and cheer at the conclusions. Lots of readers, less inclined to hear and understand, won’t like what they read.

After introducing the problem and model represented by Kaepernick, Bryant takes the reader back to the mid-twentieth century by introducing one of my own musical and political heroes, Paul Robeson, who, as a black student at Rutgers in the 1920’s twice recognized as a consensus All-American football football player and class valedictorian, graduated from Columbia Law School and established himself as an actor, singer (Old Man River and Water Boy), flirted with Communism before being deprived of his passport by the House Unamerican Activities Committee, and became a hero of the civil rights movement before his death in the 1965.

Bryant recognizes black athletes as creating a heritage of advancement and courage in the face of pre-war Jim Crow America and the world of increased opportunity represented by their return to an America changed by World War II and Harry Truman’s elimination of racial discrimination in the armed services. There athletes, represented by the likes of Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Joe Lewis, Jim Brown, Kurt Flood, professor Harry Edwards, Muhammad Ali and others established the place of black athletes to play and to speak out. Many, like Kurt Flood, John Carlos, and Muhammed Ali all sacrificed years of their professional lives as the organized sport and public resistance shortened or ended their careers. Their sacrifices and successes served to pave the way for others.“We had to take care of each other,” former baseball player and manager Dusty Baker said. “There weren’t that many of us. You knew the game didn’t always want you. You had to pass on what you knew, like, prepare the ones that were coming. That was your responsibility.” While sports provided an entree to wealth and fame, black intelligence and thoughtfulness were denied or ignored.

The second era, characterized by Bryan as the period of “Shut up and play!” featured the emergence of superb athletes who were able to dominate their sport, but were, at the same time, willing and able to characterize themselves as virtually race-less. While obviously men of color, their demeanor and dominance of their sport occurred in a time where their salaries as players were dwarfed by their income from product endorsements and public appearances. Athletes like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, O,J. Simpson preferred to duck social issues, while living lavish lifestyles and not speaking out on social issues, despite the fact that many able and talented black athletes were not being rewarded in the ways that they the stars,were. Bryant argues, “that for all the money, the players were still black, and the minute any one of them ran afoul of the white mainstream public, either by decline in play or by specifically taking a political stand that advocated for African Americans, that same public would be quick to turn on him.”

Then, two commercial airliners were crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 killing 2997 people and the world changed. Patriotism blossomed. The U.S. had eliminated compulsory military service in 1973, and all our armed services were staffed by volunteers. These two events ushered in a period of patriotic fervor eagerly promoted and paid for by professional sports. Policing that increasingly used military hardware and former members of the military to staff its force. Meanwhile, proliferating police illegal shootings and violence against the black community coincided with patriotic celebrations held in stadiums and on playing fields around the country. A new era of resistance to black issues came up against a new voice of African Americans with the money and the self-awareness to speak out on the issues confronting them as they became the majority of athletes in both the NFL and the NBA. Bryant characterizes this period as “The Awakening.” Black athletes’ voices were heard and their money was spent to help speak for them. LaBron James, Carmello Anthony, and, perhaps most visibly, Colin Kaepernick became symbols of the new willingness to speak out and contribute cash to causes. Bryant comments, “The real reclamation is when you decide to get on the bus. Where do you get on the bus? Where will you participate? The question will be, ‘What did you do for the people? What did you do with your wealth? Can I impact the life of a young person when it counts, not when it’s safe?”

Howard Bryant is a sports journalist and television personality appearing on both the radio and television. He often appears on the ESPN program The Sports Reporters as well as NPR’s Weekend Edtion. He has steadily risen from local beat to national prominence as a reporter and commentator. The Heritage is his fifth book.

Any white reader expecting The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patiotism by Howard Bryant (Beacon Press, 2018, 288 pages, $26.95/18.99) to provide comfort, should be warned. This book, read with an open and attentive mind will make you uncomfortable. Bryant’s narrative is compelling, his story-telling superb, his use of examples cogent and on-point, and the case he builds strong. The nexus of racism, changed definitions of patriotism, courage and avarice, and white complicity to silence the black athlete are difficult or impossible to deny. I highly recommend this book to any reader eager to understand the role of sport within today’s politics and divisions. I was provide the book as a pre-publication download by the publisher through Edelweiss. I read it on my Kindle app.

[Derrick Clements · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Black athletes in America and their activism (or lack thereof) is a story that illuminates so much about America in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. When does political action and speech become a duty? What counts as "political" in the first place? Howard Bryant brilliantly unpacks so many complex and challenging ideas here.

Along with OJ: Made in America, this book stands as a masterpiece of using pop culture and entertainment as a lens to understand thorny and serious subjects. In addition to the focus on Black American politics, Bryant's in-depth description of the ways America changed after 9/11 is essential reading.

I do not watch or care about sports, and I absolutely loved this book. And by the way, I'm so glad I watched One Night in Miami before reading.

My annotations here.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You want my politics out of sports? Take your politics out of sports." - Colin Kaepernick (p.222)

I think this book could have been longer, but Bryant, both succinctly and thoroughly, shares the history of The Heritage in the first 140 pages. The last 100 pages punched me in my gut - to know that I am passively accepting the marketing of "patriotism" in our professional sports - and it has me questioning how I observe these events in-person moving forward.

While this book may be for more liberally-minded people, it's a worthwhile read for all. And, for me, a starting point at which I can follow back to learn more about the founders of The Heritage.

-----

Chapter 7 - Props - is an insightful, yet humbling read. I am grateful for the honest thoughts of those interviewed in this chapter: Cecelia Evans, Mark Zinno, William Astore and Sean Doolittle (yes, the Nationals' closer Sean Doolittle). Some of their quotes that will stick with me for a while are:

"The whole 'thanking you for your service' made me uncomfortable. I got paid, I wasn't drafted. I got a paycheck every two weeks. You paid my salary, so thank you for paying your taxes...But there was a blind worship to it, the whole thanking thing. maybe people felt like they hadn't done enough in their lives. Whenever I met a guy and he found out I was a marine, eight times out of ten they always had to come up with excuses, to tell me the reason why they didn't serve. Automatically. It was like a compulsion. 'Well, I was going to, but I went to college,' or 'I was gonna join, but I got hurt.' Maybe they felt emasculated because I'm a marine, and that's the toughest one. I'm like, 'Chill. Relax.' It's not for everyone." - Cecelia Evans, former marine (p.148)

"When people throw that hero stuff at me...You have to stop doing that. It's admirable, but we're not heroes. There's a lot of shitbags in the military too. They're in all walks of life. The military has a sexual-assault issue. Those guys aren't heroes. Far from it. You just can't lump everyone in together." - Lt. Col. Mark Zinno, U.S. Army (p. 156)

"I do get a little bit angry at the events that go on. It is always self-serving. You're not doing it for us. You're doing it for you. If you really want to help anybody, give [veterans] a job. Get them back on their feet. Don't bring any cameras. You're currying favor to the people who buy your tickets. Salute to Service is bullshit. The worst thing you can do is pretend to be something you're not. You're going to fool the average fan, but you're not going to fool anyone who wears the uniform." - Lt. Col. Mark Zinno, U.S. Army (p. 158)

"For me, it was Pat Tillman's nobility, his idealism. He sacrificed millions of dollars and, ultimately, his life for his country. And then his country betrayed that sacrifice by lying about the circumstances of his death. That lie extended to the highest levels of the Bush/Cheney administration, revealing in high relief it cynicism and crassness and corruption." Ret. Lt. Col. Bill Astore, U.S. Air Force (p. 156)

"While I appreciate the efforts to remember veterans and their sacrifices, I cringe when it's connected to a crass commercialism. I also cringe when it's exaggerated and also when the military is used as props. For example, war planes are for war, not to generate cheers before a game. Keep sports and war separate. One is entertainment. The other is deadly." Ret. Lt. Col. Bill Astore, U.S. Air Force (p. 159)

[On professional sports in the business of selling war] "It's deliberate, and I'm not a conspiracy theorist. Basically, the message has been 'You don't have to worry about this. Let the experts handle this. You just have to live your normal life. We got this.' So there's been no national mobilization. The new American isolationism is that we are isolated from the effects of war. It is a deliberate effort to shield the American people from the effects of war. There's a vague sense of 'support the troops' but little sense why. There's nothing about the war other than, they're fighting for freedom. But what does that mean?" - Ret. Lt. Col. Bill Astore, U.S. Air Force (p.160-161)

"I know this isn't a popular thing to say, but I really feel that when they bring out the guy who lost an arm and a leg in Iraq to throw out the first pitch to Dustin Pedroia, they're honoring him and that's terrific, but they're also sending another message. That message is that htere is no cost to these wars. And people can say, 'Look at him. He's all right.' And he's not all right. He throws out the first pitch and then he goes home and has to deal with a lifetime of not having his limbs.

And we never talk about peace. What is the purpose of bringing these guys out there if we're not going to discuss ending the reasons that put them in this condition? We never mention the killing involved or that you might be killed. Remember how during war you would hear people say, 'When the war is over...' Remember how after the Cold War leaders talked about a 'peace dividend'? You never hear that anymore. And there is no end in sight." - Ret. Lt. Col. Bill Astore, U.S. Air Force (p. 162)

"The main reason I don't like it is that the commodification of Memorial Day and events like NFL's Salute to Service month...capitalizes on a new strain of 'patriotism.' In America today, we display patriotism through the lens of militarism and war and pass it off as support for the troops. It can smell a lot like nationalism. We'll buy a hat with a camo logo of our favorite team and wear it proudly, a way to show support for our team and our armed forces. There's more to patriotism than standing for the anthem and wearing red, white, and blue or camo-themed garb, but this new kind of American patriotism gets exploited in the name of capitalism, and days like Memorial Day lost some of their meaning." - Sean Doolittle, Washington Nationals pitcher and distant cousin of Jimmy Doolittle of "Doolittle's Raid" in WWII (p. 161)

"Gestures like standing for the anthem or wearing camo or putting a giant American flag sticker on your car can be hollow gestures if we're not actively doing something to try and make this country a better place." - Sean Doolittle, Washington Nationals pitcher (p. 161-162)

-----

And, appropriately, from the Epilogue, thoughts from Ken Burns, director of The Vietnam War, a ten-part, 18-hour documentary:

"It's a question of having skin in the game. When you have a draft, no matter how unfair it was with its loopholes in the 1960s that benefited the well-to-do to avoid it, the poor with fewer options were going to serve a disproportionate amount. But a lottery system is a huge boon to the antiwar movement because everybody and their mothers, especially their mothers, has skin in the game.

Today, we have a separate military class that suffers the wounds of war for the rest of us with no pushback. It permits the worst kind of 'patriotism,' where you get to grandstand and politicize and say 'Thank you for your service,' which is no longer a real thing, but just a way to end a sentence." (p.230)

"In the process of this public relations, we've actually forgotten the values the country was founded on. And we distort a person like Colin Kaepernick, who is genuinely and gravely concerned about what is happening to justice for African Americans in the United States. That we've been able to contort this is the worst kind of behavior. When this happens, you've abdicated democratic response, and when you have a charlatan-in-chief, who lies in office every day, we end up with tribal responses instead of civil ones." (p.231)

[Zane M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the fight for equality, Bryant is genius in describing systemic racism and breaking down the use of the American flag to cloud the real issues surrounding equity and inclusion, from the onset of the popularity of sports. From Colin Kaepernick to Paul Robeson, Bryant tells it like it is.

[David Brennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously a timely book. It probably sounds cynical of me to say that if there were no protests led by Colin Kaepernick in the wake of Ferguson this kind of book would not be written. It’s kind of how since Trump’s election there are a million and more books written on the campaign, explaining Trump or in some way related to Trump or his followers.
There are of course books written on police brutality of minorities long before this unfortunate crisis with us today. It’s less that it is a new crisis (it isn’t) and more how an old problem (racism + police brutality, lack of accountability) and a new phenomenon (social media, ubiquitous cameras and news cycles) create a more visceral malignant reminder of injustice in America.
Bryant’s focus isn’t on that however. He deals, as the the title indicates, with the history of protest in America by Black athletes. From Paul Robeson, to Jackie Robinson to John Carlos, to Muhammed Ali, to Curt Flood to Colin Kaepernick and obviously many more, there is more of a call and heritage for black athletes in America to be more than just athletes, he writes. This was the most interesting point that Bryant makes in my opinion. Of course, I knew that black athletes were revered and worshipped figures in their communities and beyond (I do this too), but I took for granted how impeded in other positions in America blacks historically endured. The dearth of platform. America values black bodies over black minds, he writes time and time again. Athletics and Entertainment for the longest time were the only avenues towards mainstream acceptance that blacks could hope to achieve in America. Because of that platform, black athletes have had to be politician, entrepreneur, social activist, intellectual basically everything since their opportunities were so limited.
Protest was the only way to get the mainstream (white mainstream) to pay attention. Progress has been made, but how much is difficult to say. The ongoing anthem protests in the NFL and beyond are highly controversial. Bryant does a really good job of explaining how politicized the military and sports became post-9/11. It’s really frustrating for me that some believe the American flag belongs only to certain groups: the military and police among others.
It’s nothing more than another tired example of political correctness--only this time it comes from the political right whereas it’s typically thought of as a leftist creation. It proves as much as anything that the military/industrial complex rules in the United States of America, if you were unsure.
Bryant has something close to contempt for O.J. Simpson, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. He puts the blame, basically, at their feet for dropping the line of the Heritage. I didn’t really realize that Simpson was the first black athlete that was ‘safe’ for the mainstream: appearing in commercials, endorsements, other media. I only remember his trial. That’s O.J. to me. Jordan and Woods he accuses of ‘greenwashing’ which basically means that their wealth and status inoculated them in taking much of a public stance for blacks and the subject of police brutality/ systematic racism.
I don’t know if this book will really convert anyone. I see it more as ‘preaching to the choir’ and just giving more history to the anthem protests. A legacy. I do think that, one day, Colin Kaepernick will be viewed differently not unlike protesters of the 1960s. I don’t know if he will be lionized necessarily, but I think history is on his side. A cold comfort, to be sure, for him and the families of murdered minorities that must suffer the loss of loved ones while their shooters walk and get paid leave. The current protests aren’t all about posterity and history but changing things in the here and now.
One issue that kind of irks me a little bit is that Bryant doesn’t seem to think much of compromise. This is especially true with the Malcolm Jenkins ‘sellout’ of getting the NFL to pledge $89 million dollars towards social justice causes. He sees it as ‘divide and conquer’ or the owners just buying out the protests. It seems like an extension of current political gridlock where all partisans play an ‘all or nothing’ game in which nothing ends up enforced with any kind of consensus. That’s a problem for a whole other book.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This thoroughly researched book delves into the history of politics in sports, and the intersection of race, nationalism, capitalism, and advocacy. Super interesting! Really can't recommend it enough (4.5 stars- my biggest complaint is the lack of female representation- Serena, many WNBA players, and others have played a bigger role in bringing social issues to the forefront than he credits in my opinion)

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received this book free through GoodReads Giveaways - while I'm very appreciative, my review is my own.

Wow. This book slapped me around hard. Every sports fan - and non sports fan, honestly - who tries to consider themselves allies to BLM must read this. I mean, every American should, but we all know that's unlikely.

My concern at the beginning was that I wouldn't be sufficiently knowledgable to fully appreciate this book... and I was only a tiny bit right. Mostly because I don't know anything about baseball, so some of that I probably didn't appreciate as much. Honestly, it may be a bit frustrating in some places for people without a good bit of knowledge of football... But at the very least, the last third is so so important.
And the icing on this cake is the quality of Bryant's writing and research. This is not just a passionate opinion piece. This is a meticulously researched work of popular sports history that draws some very clear conclusions on sports and race in America today and historically.

If any of that sounds the least bit interesting, read this one, definitely.

[ManarSaif · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about black players in sports, how they are asked to “shut up” and play only without talking about the black lives being killed by police, sport wants you to believe that cops are your friends, and HOW DARE YOU talk about the people with the blue uniform that are there to protect you lol. Sports for many years we’re using the black body but not the black minds, they don’t want political players, nope they just want them to play the game and win championships in order to get paid without causing any trouble.
9/11 happened back in 2001, yet America still won’t shut up about it, for many years following the 9/11 sport’s teams would let their players wear t shirts of the American flag and distribute small flags to the fans attending the match, but never do the same for the lost black lives killed by blue uniforms. For many years the NFL and NBA leagues would ask for players like Micheal Jordan and magic Johnson, as great as these players are building the franchise of both the lakers and bulls, these two players followed the “shut up and play” without speaking up for their communities and the black lives, “don’t speak and we will make sure to pay you”, “don’t be political and we promise your bank account will be filled with zeros”. The NFL didn’t want players like kaepernick, the player who knelt down during the national anthem, the NBA didn’t want players like Kareem Abdul Jabbar that is not afraid of speaking up for his community, they didn’t want players like Lebron James that is not afraid of confronting Trump and making donations to his own people and pay the college tuition of many young souls. sports wanted untroubled players (good built, well mannered, pleasant to talk to and most importantly NOT political) yet again they wanted followers, don’t disrespect the flag and pay your respect to the effected families of the 9/11 events. Okay but what about my own people? In fact many teams would have literally one black player allowed in their team, one seemed a good number but somehow two black players would be a threat to the rest of the white players. As a player you were a tool for entertainment only
for many years sports been an indirect way of recruiting kids in the army, bringing in men who fought in Iraq to the field to sing the national anthem or throw the baseball at the very beginning of the game, it was a way to convey a message to kids that these people are the ones who served your country and you may wanna join them.

This books mentioned many black lives killed and got arrested in the most terrible way:
1- Tamir rice the 12 years old kid who got shot by the police for holding a toy gun.
2- Nicholas Howard is just another kid, shot because he was playing cops and robbers with two other friends
3- four black men were chased by white gang with baseball bats
4- king a man got arrested after a high speed chase, kicked and beaten with the nightstick by not one officer but 4, not to mention the taser dhoti carrying fifty thousand volts of electricity.
5- Latasha Harlins a 15 years old shot in the back by grocery store owner over a bottle of soda worth 1.97$, do you know what happened to the killer? Nothing, but he was indeed asked to do some hours of community service!!
6- Abner louima, paunched and arrested by police, got beaten and pushed to a bathroom stall where the officer took a plunger and pushed it in his rectum and then his mouth. He is one of the very few cases who got justice tho, we was awarded 8.75 million dollars yet again do you think he really recovered from what happened!!

America doesn’t care about these people, nope but they do care about the cops, marines and the army. Cuz these are the friendly people who are protecting you and your neighbourhood from the bad people and unfortunately in their case it’s the black people. Not all people in the army get their medals and get recognised by the public tho, cuz black people would say “hey we were fighting in the war” and the answer they’d get is “nope, you weren’t” so be like Micheal Jordan and do your job so you can get good deals and partnership from nike so you can sell as many shoes as possible but don’t ever speak of the issue and we promise you that the fans would adore you.

[Jim Robles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars!! This one is very good on how patriotism became entwined with sports as a consequence of 911, how it is intended to help recruiting, and how the oppressive effort to impose conformity looks to those who are subject to being shot while unarmed for DWB.

Reading this I was reminded of:

"So thick was the barrier of segregation that upper-class blacks were more likely to live in poor neighborhoods than poor whites" (p. 158). ". . . . black families making $100,000 or more live in more disadvantaged neighborhoods than white families making less than $30,000" (p. 318). We Were Eight Years in Power - An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates

This book provides numerous examples (p. 69 - 70, etc.) of how this happens, even for famous and "admired" Black athletes.

"Referring to as such even felt like an understatement, for nothing about the current state of the sports world can be explained without the context of September 11, 2001" (p. 100).

"It also sold another product: conformity and obedience cloaked in an ostensibly benign patriotism" (p. 107).

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. - Samuel Johnson, April 7, 1775.

""America believes in the Constitution up until the point where it is scared, " said Eric Adams, Brooklyn borough president and former NYPD officer for twenty-tow years. "hen she becomes afraid, the Constitution means nothing. All those words about life, liberty, and justice, the freedom to do this and that, all that shit goes out the window" (p. 121).

That is certainly the lesson from the Internment of Japanese during WWII.

". . . . I'm the person who voted for Ralph Nader and screwed Al Gore out of the Presidency," she said" (p. 148).

"And it was here where sports no longer served as a unifier but instead reflected the great divide between the labor class (the players), the leisure class (the fans), and the ruling class (the owners)" (p. 177).

"Everything gets screwed up if we're not doing our jobs and holding ourselves accountable, but I don't think the military ought to be paying to participate" (p. 207).

"About 65 percent of our soldiers come from rural communities, and any exposure we can get to that population is very important, and more important that people see the esteem that people hold those in uniform who serve" (p. 210).

"White fans owned the flag and, by extension, were real Americans" (p. 217).

"Not Vick, Lewis, Hardy, nor any in a roll call of others, none of their transgressions, moral or legal - nor the destructive nature of the game that was destroying the brains and bodies of their heroes - were sufficient reasons for fans to boycott the league. That Kaepernick threat was not disgracing the integrity of the league but challenging it to allow the black mind to think for himself" (p. 228).

Jim
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jimrobles

[Michelle Arthington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given 5 stars, but am subtracting one for a lack of tight editing, that I hope will be resolved in the 2nd edition, for we need a 2nd edition.

This well-researched book explains the history of "The Heritage", as passed on by Jackie Robinson, Paul Robeson and Muhammad Ali, who were outspoken about issues in their community, despite subsequent financial and career impact. The decades that followed were filled with athletes who were "greenwashed", who played the game that the white owners and sponsors wanted them to in exchange for riches beyond imagination, men like Jordan, Woods and Simpson.

It also deeply delved into the relationship between sports teams and the military/police after 9/11, including forced patriotism and the military's huge payments to sports teams for a positive presence that would help with recruiting efforts (as documented by the Flake-McCain report in 2015).

Against this backdrop, Trayvon Martin was killed. And Ferguson happened. And Mizzou happened. And other innocent black bodies continue to be killed by police, with no ramifications. And Colin Kaepernick was banned from the league for taking up The Heritage again and being deemed unpatriotic. And the owners gave millions to the Trump campaign.

The rest of us need to take a stand. Will we support the players who are shining light on injustice, or will we support the rich white owners who are forcing their brand of paid (false) patriotism down our throats? Roger Goodell knows who I have chosen.

[Ben Smither · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much more than a comprehensive history of black athletes engaging with their peers and politics. This book’s middle section details the alarming relationship between sports and militarism/patriotism/nationalism, borne out of a post-9/11 world in an era when athlete’s voices were mostly silent, replaced by a creeping jingoistic codependence.

This, plus part one’s focus on black voices of protest in the past, properly frames the final section. Too often, Kap and others like him are viewed in a singular lens. The Heritage zooms out for the full landscape. Even its digressions when athletes are barely mentioned for pages and pages are key focal points that Howard Bryant has his director’s keen eye on.

Interested in sports? Sure, it’s a must-read. But its full scope as a history makes it essential for anyone, especially in understanding 2020s George Floyd sparked protests. Even though The Heritage was published in 2018, it has so much to say on our inevitable present.

[Joe Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book for the sole interest of readers who enjoy sports. This is a book on racism on and off the field and I think it may be one of the more important nonfiction books published on this topic. The author's writing is clear, focused, and passionate. I came away from this book a more informed understanding of the role of the black athlete in the civil rights movement. The author provides an informative history of the broken line of "The Heritage" from Paul Robeson & Jackie Robinson to Colin Kaepernick; right on to Black Live Matter. A lot of the athletes mentioned were unfamiliar to me, but this was not a distraction. I was aware of the price that black athletes, such as Paul Robeson and John Carlos & Tommie Smith, the sprinters who raised their fists during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympics, paid for protesting, but I was not fully aware of the complications resulting from The Heritage intersecting with capitalism and patriotism. The author identifies 9-11 and Ferguson as watershed moments. One of the more interesting parts of this book is how the esteem of police & military have been joined in the patriotism of post 9-11 and its evolution into "paid patriotism" which is now probably a permanent part of sport events. Ferguson is an example where the respect & admiration of the police at sporting events is contradicted by the experience on the streets of the minority community. I came away from this book with a reinforcement of my appreciation for individuals like LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, their contemporaries, and all the others who came before and for those to come because I think this patriotism (along with the profit interests of the owners) makes it harder on the athlete who takes a stand publicly. As I mentioned, this is complicated, and the author does an outstanding job in explaining this history.

[Kat V · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard a review of this on NPR and it’s been sitting on my shelf forever so since it’s black history month I think it’s time to start reading. There is so much in here that I never thought about in relationship to sports and as a big football fan I am learning quite a bit. 4.6 stars

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I supported the protest but really didn't understand the politics aspect or the background of military and other law enforcement and sports teams. Fascinating read.

[Seth Arnopole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this, even if you’re not particularly interested in sports.

[Rob Neyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's all here, perfectly laid out, just the facts. Just the uncomfortable, inconvenient, generally infuriating and demoralizing facts.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting topic, but would've made a better magazine article than book. Also, book was full of inaccuracies that I could catch (non-sports related) that made me question the accuracy the facts sited in other parts of the book. Also didn't provide enough context around certain events (eg. talked about the University of Missouri protests advocating for the president of the university to leave, but never mentioned why students wanted his departure). A subject worthy of discussion and reflection, just not a great execution. Disappointing.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A “HISTORICAL” PERSPECTIVE ON MANY CURRENT ISSUES

Author Howard Bryant wrote in the Prologue of this 2018 book, “This is a book about collusion… in sports… sports is just entertainment, offering the illusion of being important… But sports was always more for the black athlete. Despite its obvious legal and extralegal barriers to equality, in sports, the scoreboard served as a metaphor for meritocracy America always considered itself, and sports was the barometer for where African Americans stood in the larger culture, how American they would be allowed to be. Of all black employees in the history of the United States, it was the ballplayers who were the most influential and most important, the ones who made the money. The black thinkers… were roadblocked by segregation. Entertainers were a close second, but the athletes were different. Being a ballplayer was the first black occupation allowed in the mainstream… Ballplayers were the Ones Who Made It. And being the Ones Who Made It soon came with the responsibility to speak for the people who had not made it, for whom the road was still blocked… The tradition was so strong that it even had an informal nickname, ‘the Heritage,’ exemplified that day in June of 1956, when Paul Robeson… who was once the most famous black man in America walked straight into ... where the House Un-American Activities Committee held hearings … Robeson appeared before the committee requesting a reissue of the passport the government had taken from him six years earlier.” (Pg. ix-x)

He continues, “by advocating that dissent is cause for losing one’s career, the sports industry and the president of the United States have returned America to [Paul] Robeson’s dark time. And the questions of dissent and patriotism, of race and speech, he faced then are the same the black athlete is fighting now. We have been here before. In a time of flag and flyovers, camouflage jerseys and a president calling his citizens un-American, authoritarianism as patriotism has become the new normal.” (Pg. xiii-xiv)

He went on, “By risking his enormous fame and wealth to advocate for improving the black condition, Robeson lost his money but gained his people. When it comes to the Heritage, Robeson was its charter member and first casualty… This pattern continues to repeat itself, emblematic today with Colin Kaepernick, who has discovered in a new century the suffocating weight of the power of absorbing the phenomenon of white revenge and emerging more relevant, more important, more influential… Through the great unifier of sports, with the black players kneeling, the white players standing, the police heroes to one, center of protest to others, America would discover explosively and definitely just how severe its fracture truly were.” (Pg. xiv-xv)

In the first chapter, he states, “Kaepernick was not vague or reckless in his indictments. He said he had no conflict with veterans or the military… While cultivating a response to the police, he spoke with Nate Boyer, the former long-snapper for the Seattle Seahawks who was also a Green Beret. Kaepernick told Boyer that he wanted to make a public stand against police killings but also wanted to be respectful of the military. Boyer suggested quietly taking a knee during the national anthem… It was the gesture that directed the country’s attention toward the police and a justice system completely unwilling to convict officers whose use of deadly force seemed to be the first and only option in confrontations with African American citizens.” (Pg. 5-6)

He observes, “America’s racial framework was being exposed through sports, the one place that was supposed to be a meritocracy. The players were expected to perform… [but] they weren’t supposed to challenge or dispute the world in which they lived either. The white majority… would decide what could be discussed and how… What Kaepernick revealed was that sports was no less divided along racial lines than the rest of the country, even if its workforce comprised a black majority. The only difference was, the players were black millionaires.” (Pg. 13)

He argues, “After the [2016] election, Kaepernick dropped an atom bomb on reporters… it turned out that Kaepernick … had NEVER been registered to vote. Ever… And this is where the high-minded, frothy outrage, the talk of hypocrites and voting supposedly being the most important act a citizen owns sounds great in theory but, in the real world, was just another lazy talking point to discredit dissent the punditry could not handle.” (Pg. 28-29)

He elaborates, “the Heritage began from the responsibility of being the Good American. White America asked black athletes to defend its ideals and [Jesse] Owens and [Joe] Louis obliged. This defense continued into the postwar era, as tensions rose with the Soviet Union. The black athlete wanted to stick to sports. It was white America that wouldn’t let him.” (Pg. 33-34) Later, he adds, “The Heritage was also born of something else: money and opportunity.” (Pg. 40) “If the best prospect for black America was not going to be education but the lottery ticket of sports… then the most physically gifted African Americans were bound to interrupt America’s fun and games when the times demanded their political participation… the Heritage… belonged to them now, even if it was a burden the next several generations of athletes did not always seem to want.” (Pg. 50)

He comments on many black athletes: “O.J. Simpson had created a new template: the colorless black athlete. He opened the doors to the white world and other black players followed. Jim Brown preceded him… but Brown never possessed Simpson’s marketing muscle. No one did---until Michael Jordan arrived… Simpson was the pioneer for money and mainstream social acceptance black players never envisioned---if they were willing to lay off the politics and the anger… the Heritage never stood a chance.” (Pg. 76-77) The “end result” of Tiger Woods’ attitude [e.g., calling himself ‘Cablinasian’] was, “there was no advantage to identifying with being black.” (Pg. 94)

He asserts, “The Heritage was dead. The paying customer never wanted it, and now the players believed that being a political athlete was either no longer their responsibility or too costly for the wallet. In a sense, the players had won. The black body remained a multimillion-dollar commodity to America, but this time they got to keep the money… And then the Twin Towers fell.” (Pg. 97) He adds, “Of all American social institutions, 9/11 most radically altered sports… September 11 both killed ‘stick to sports’ and became a patriotic war cry… What was thought to be a period of grieving and a temporary display of militarism became a permanent, cultural transformation, now going on nearly twenty years.” (Pg. 101-102)

After the deaths of Sean Bell and Oscar Grant at the hands of police, he points out, “the black players played. No one spoke out… the great black players---Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Barry Bonds, Shaquille O’Neal, and Randy Moss, not to speak of Tiger Woods---said nothing.” (Pg. 151)

He explains, “the Department of Justice report concluded that Michael Brown had reached into the police car during his struggle with Darren Wilson. The investigation said Brown’s hands were not in the air when Wilson him and that he had not been running away… To black America… the conclusion of the Justice Department … did not square with … the number of times members of the black community were in a position of compliance or surrender and were harassed and humiliated by police anyway.” (Pg. 170) Later, he adds, “in a time of Ferguson, Michael Jordan, with his apolitical message… was not the perfect model for this new group of players… It was [Allen] Iverson who first began pulling the athlete from the boardroom back to the streets, back to the people.” (Pg. 189)

He asks, “So how authentic was the awakening?... the players… were not yesterday’s Heritage. They were of a different social class but by race and lineage to the struggle were expected to be present. Even Colin Kaepernick, for all her endured and risked, did so with millions already earned. He was not John Carlos, who had to take odd jobs below minimum wage just to pay his rent… To join the Heritage, you had to pay the cost…” (Pg. 216) Later, he adds, “[LeBron] James was a revelation, but when Tamir Rice was killed, [James] did not return to Cleveland and walk arm in arm with the people as [Carmelo] Anthony did in Baltimore. Instead, he was curiously distant… It is for this reason that Colin Kaepernick engenders so much anger: he is not a peacemaker. He did not seek the approval of the white public for his beliefs… The blueprint of dealing with the Heritage had not changed. Activist players before him had all paid the price, and now it was his turn.” (Pg. 226)

He concludes, “It is unlikely that sports will return to its pre-9/11 dynamics… because no one, not fans, not leagues, and not players, is asking it to… Much of the reason is that authoritarianism has already become normalized, embedded. For all the player protest, no one has indicted the militarized spectacle their day jobs have become.” (Pg. 232) He adds, “This is the inheritance of the black athlete… and no contract or endorsement deal has yet ever been big enough to make that obligation go away. It is a responsibility the black player will carry until America values the black brain over the black body, and the black people, like all the others, rise through education and not touchdowns.” (Pg. 238)

This is a stimulating, provocative, and often enlightening perspective on these issues, that should be “must reading” for those on ALL sides of these controversies.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bryant, as always, is thoughtful and knowledgable. His framing of this vital discussion is unassailable (assuming the assailant is a decent human being who recognizes the humanity of people, even those who have dark skin and/or play a sport for a living) and his historical contextualizing incredibly well done.

The writing isn't quite as sharp as I remember from 'Shut Out' and 'The Last Hero', which were both brilliant. This felt maybe a bit rushed, as it responds so clearly to specific current events. Even with a few clunky sentences and typos, however, this is an important read for the thoughtful sports fan.

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is the Heritage? As defined by Howard Bryant in this fine new book “it is the responsibility to speak for the people who had not made it, for whom the road was still blocked. The responsibility became a tradition so ingrained that it hung over every player.....The tradition was so strong that it even had an informal nickname, the Heritage.” In this book he takes a look at Black athletes and their level of political activism and what that has cost them.

With Colin Kaepernick being the latest athlete to have his livelihood threatened, actually erased at this point, Bryant takes us back to the beginning and in a lively engaging prose discusses the athletes, the stances they took and the cost to their careers. He begins with the founding member of the Heritage, the great Paul Robeson. “By risking his enormous fame and wealth to advocate for improving the black condition, Robeson lost his money but gained his people.When it comes to the Heritage, Robeson was its charter member and first casualty.”

Of course there have been many who have upheld the Heritage that Robeson established but there have also been too many who have simply ignored their responsibility and wanted no part of the Heritage.

“The tradition became the black athlete’s coat of arms, and the players who upheld it—Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, John Carlos—were the ones who one day would be taught in the schools. The ones who did not—O. J. Simpson, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods—no matter how great they were and how much money they made, could never escape the criticism that they shrank from their larger duty to the people.”

It is a thorough and historical journey through sports as it relates to the tradition of activism by Black athletes and what that has generally meant to the broader society that more often than not just wanted their ball players to shut up and play ball. Readers, both casual sports fans and diehard fanatics will no doubt appreciate this well researched effort by Howard Bryant and may be surprised by some the behind the scenes thoughts, dialogues and actions.

Black sports figures bore/bear a tremendous responsibility because they were the first to be employed in an integrated society and that primacy placed them in a position to speak out in reference to their unfortunate brethren who were not blessed with athletic talent. Some may say, how unfair is that, others may lean on, the quote, “to whom much is given, much is required.”

No matter which way you ultimately see it, you will close this book being more informed about the sacrifices some made and how those sacrifices have benefitted today’s athletes, you will also be intellectually enriched and mentally fortified to handle future discussions of athlete protests and thus able to avoid simplistic reductive arguments of patriotism and disrespect. Pick this up. Thanks to Edelweiss and Beacon Press for an advanced DRC. Book will hit shelves May 8, 2018.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't give 5 stars easily. But hands down, this book deserves it. I am fascinated and repulsed by the mix of politics and patriotism in pro sports. From Colin Kaepernick on down., athletes of color are held to different standards. Bryant is a superb writer and avoids drama and exaggeration. Read this book!

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most powerful books I've read in a long time. And, one of the top sports-related books I've ever read. Bryant eloquently chronicles the history of sports and politics -- what used to be entirely separate entities and now are seemingly forever intertwined. You cannot go to a sporting event today without hearing the national anthem (believe it or not, this is only a fairly recent phenomenon at NFL games, for example), or perhaps having law enforcement or military personnel specifically recognized for being in the stadium/arena. But the relationship between sports and politics if far more complicated for black athletes. Bryant tells the history of the black athletic heritage - or the huge social responsibilities that come with being an African American sports figure. From Jackie Robinson, Muhammed Ali, Tommie Smith & John Carlos, to the athletes who "transcended race" such as O.J. Simpson, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, and didn't embrace the power of "the heritage." The book is the story of the rise, the fall and the resurgence of the athlete-activist. It features in-depth research and interviews with high-profile athletes -- Colin Kaepernick, David Ortiz, Charles Barkley, to name a few -- plus discussions with former and current law enforcement and military personnel about the positive -- and negative -- effects of 9/11 and often forced and staged patriotism. As one reviewer writes, "This is the book for explaining our times, whether you give a damn about sports or not."

[Lane Willson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fighting against political and social injustice while at the same time battling an opponent in the arena existed before Jackie Robinson carried the hope of a people under the staggering weight of a nation’s gaze. However, Mr. Robinson’s valiant efforts on and off the field as the man who integrated baseball are where many, especially among white folk, began to pay attention to the game and the struggle. The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, And the Politics of Patriotism is Howard Bryant’s valiant effort at offering history, context, definition to the black athlete’s current role in the game of politics in sports.

Protesting America’s schizophrenic system of justice, which frequently sees unarmed black men gunned down by law enforcement, Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the National Anthem preceding every NFL kickoff. His play on the field had already taken a nosedive, having gone from leading the San Francisco Forty-Niners to a Super Bowl to rarely seen back-up well on his way to becoming the answer to a “Whatever happened to” trivia question on the back of a box of Wheaties. Kaepernick became the bullseye for the grotesque racial hatred American society still does far too well and served in part as a catalyst for Mr. Bryant’s book.

There is ample evidence of the unique rock and hard place confronting the black athlete, “the heritage”, even today in the twenty-first century, and the pressure felt from the various racial and political communities in the fan base. It is ubiquitous, observed across all major sports, and although with far less frequency it has even been seen at the college and high school levels. When faux patriotism is inserted into these confined situations, the athlete now finds themselves in a potentially explosive rock and a hard place. As opposed to genuine patriotism, those deep feelings shared by the thousands of fans in the stands or watching at home, most fans are unaware that what they are often witnessing is store bought patriotism. Professional teams and even colleges charge the military thousands of dollars to show off the return valiant warrior. What better advertising is there than the soldier, disguised as the catcher, surprising his wife and young children when they hurl the honorary first pitch.

Discerning the proper response to the heritage, and it does require a response from everyone regardless of race, is at best complicated and confusing, and at worse flippant and disrespectful. To see the athlete as simply another person is to deny or hide their race. To include race in one’s recognition is segregation. If the athlete of color is quite or introverted, then they are an Uncle Tom. To be militant is to be irrational or ruled by emotion, or worse yet to harbor some form of reverse prejudice. To do any of these while making millions of dollars is selfish and uncaring. Regardless of the position taken, there are always those seeking to sow discord.

One of the best examples of this is Bryant’s description of the testimony Jackie Robinson gave to Congress during the darkness of McCarthyism. Robinson was asked about one of the few black athletes to achieve fame outside the African-American community, Paul Robeson. Valedictorian of the 1919 class of Rutgers University, Roberson was also a consensus All-American football player. He briefly played in the NFL while earning his law degree at Columbia, where he was again one of the tops in his class. However, his success as an actor and singer did not allow much time for practicing law. Politically active, Robeson would eventually become a communist, even making trips to the Soviet Union. Having testified prior to Jackie Robinson’s appearance, Robinson was placed in a position of defending or condemning Robeson. Though it was not the part of his testimony that garnered headlines, Jackie Robinson pointed out to those present that the racial and social injustice that existed in America at that time was no less real because of Mr. Robeson’s politics. Obviously, Jackie Robinson’s performance on the baseball diamond and his response to racism whether he was in a Dodger’s uniform or a suit is what he is most famous for, but believe his continued work after his baseball days were through were just as important to the heritage Mr. Bryant writes about.

Mr. Bryant does not shy away from pointing out those who have ignored the responsibility born from their success on the athletic stage. Tiger Woods and Michael Jordon being the best examples. However, there were others whose absence I found puzzling. Purple People Eater, and Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, Alan Page; former Oklahoma quarterback and U.S. Representative J.C. Watts, to name just a couple. There also seemed to be a minimal discussion of the women who contributed to the heritage.

Race is very difficult topic to discuss today, not that it has ever been easy, but it seems most difficult right after our hopes for improvement are met with the disappointment and frustration of reality and the work that remains. That we even tried on a term like “post-racial America” in 2008 after President Obama was elected looks like a Red Sox fan putting on a 1986 World Series Champion hat while Bill Buckner is on his way out to play first base.

There is one disagreement I have with Mr. Bryant and that is his defense of Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to vote in the 2016 elections. I concede every point about the low turnout, and because of where would have voted it wouldn’t have made a difference, etc. Vote anyway! There’s too much money in politics and no room for a real and honest discussion? Make room! In football alone I’m reminded of all the young men who were told at one level or another, there was no way they could play quarterback: Joe Gilliam, Joe Washington, Warren Moon, Condredge Holloway (I’m a Volunteer), Randall Cunningham, and 170lb kid who played for Nevada with a weird name.

He wasn’t much of a ballplayer, but I think he has expressed my point better than any of the great men I’ve listed so far, “Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong beginning & nicely wrapped up ending but the writing becomes a little jumbled up in the middle. Very interested to see what this author would write on Eric Adams now that he’s the disgraced NYC mayor and no longer a beacon of the black police force. So weird to see someone positively praise and quote Eric Adams.

I would have loved more on the black female athlete in America besides the few passing mentions of the Williams sisters & Toni Smith-Thompson. The lack of discussion on the intersection of race & gender, ESEPCIALLY of the Williams sisters, was noted and would have fit in perfectly when discussing the angry black man trope