Hands Up!

St. Louis Rams Demonstration, Picture Courtesy of NBC News

Lately, race has not just been something that exist in this world as a underground subject. It has surfaced and not just in the way that people pay attention to it but people are taking action. There was a time in this world where athletes had to take stands in society to give a face and recognition to a personable subject that relates to athletes. Race is a target subject that takes place in all sports and currently in the United States, there are situations that are happening too often that seem to not get enough attention to stop the situation.
What does it take to stop a situation where Blacks are murdered in their communities? I'm not touching on right or wrong in this subject, but the object is for their to be awareness. We always find ways to talk about situations but who are the people that can help with the situations at hand?

On June 4th, 1967, some of the top black athletes, including Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali, Lew Alcindor and Bill Russell all came together in support of Ali going against the idea of joining the military. Those athletes had an idea and took things in their hands regardless of the the support. Most people would call Ali, disrespectful and non-patriotic. Ali's mindset was to not stand for something he didn't believe in, going along with his religion as a Muslim.

We can talk about how much Ali, may have not taken any consideration for the country and that idea is definitely understandable, but if there is not fight, where do we stand? Do we stand in a society where the only time it matters is when Blacks pride themselves on something patriotic or can we stand for our skin.

The 2 most popular sports in America are dominated in % by Blacks. Blacks, who most have come from different situations where there was no support and other opportunity to succeed and make a difference but through athletics. It might not be understood but those 5 (Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Chris Givens, Kenny Britt and Jared Cook), took a chance with something to draw attention. No, it was not the entire team and I'm not sure if the entire team would have stood for that, but the "HANDS UP" situation seemed to be very important to them.

St. Louis Police Association felt someway about the gesture yesterday on 11/30/14 and because they felt that it could have created a hostile situation, they requested that the NFL discipline the football players. Their request was denied and it looks like the NFL is leaving this sensitive subject alone. This keeps from supporting the gesture or going against it.

Can this form of support for a situation be a huge lift for the communities? Can this draw enough attention so it makes a difference? What will it take for organizations like the NFL to stand up for situations like so that people can help with the cause? They stand up for Cancer, Aids, ALS, Obesity, Domestic Violence and other things that affect the world that surrounds these athletes. Should they avoid this because there is a percentage of people in the NFL that feel offended if they do stand with one side?