美国国家公共电台 NPR Your Questions About Activism In Sports, Answered

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And we are trying out something new with our Wednesday sports segment. We're taking questions from you, our listeners. This month, we asked, what's been on your mind as you have watched athletes bring social activism onto the field, like, of course, football players who've been kneeling during the national anthem¹? And we got hundreds of questions. Many of you asked some version of this question from Neil Nye (ph) of Evanston, Ill.

NEIL NYE: Why do we have the national anthem at sporting events at all? What is the connection?

GREENE: OK, well, to answer that, we spoke² to Marc Ferris, who wrote the book "Star-Spangled Banner: The Unlikely Story Of America's National Anthem." Hearing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at sporting events is actually about as old as the anthem itself, according to Ferris. We know it happened as early as the 1860s, though Ferris says it wasn't all that common.

MARC FERRIS: You had to hire a band, and that was expensive. And they only played it on special occasions. It was during World War II that it became an every-game phenomenon, in large measure due to the gravity of the situation, but also due to the fact that they now had sound systems, and they could amplify³ a singer, play a recording⁴ or have an organist play. And so when we declared World War II in December 1941, then the season started 1942, and so that really is when all the teams adopted it.

GREENE: OK, author Marc Ferris does point out that there were at least several national anthem protests during the Vietnam War years, and that brings us to our next question from Andrew Gomez (ph) of Washington, Pa.

ANDREW GOMEZ: Do players have any legal power in court over coaches and owners if they are benched or fired for protesting?

GREENE: OK, interesting. Do athletes have legal recourse if they are punished? Well, we asked Kim Wehle. She is a law professor at the University of Baltimore.

KIMBERLY WEHLE: The answer, really, No. 1, depends on the terms of their contract. So there are federal laws that protect speech in the private context if it's related to your employment, but you can make an agreement, sign a contract that essentially⁶ waives⁸ those rights. So the first question would be, in the collective bargaining agreements that binds⁹ these players' terms of employment with these football teams, does it essentially waive⁷ the other federal labor¹⁰ law protections?

But my understanding is, it's pretty vague, and that's not clear one way or the other. And so I think a player could say, listen, we are, together, engaging in collective speech by doing this as multiple players - right? - together in this context, and therefore, there are federal labor laws that protect us and our ability to do that.

GREENE: That was constitutional law professor Kim Wehle. Now, many of you had questions along the lines of this next one.

RUSS OLSON: Hi, this is Russ Olson (ph) from Spokane, Wash., and I was wondering, is there an example of athletes actually having a positive impact on a social or political change in America?

GREENE: To answer that, we reached Dr. Louis Moore. He is a history professor at Grand Valley State in Michigan. Moore says athletes played a big role in the civil rights movement, including a milestone¹¹ that involved pro⁵ football players.

LOUIS MOORE: Roughly 22 black players in 1965 boycotted¹² the All-Star Game in New Orleans when they felt that there was too much racism¹³ in the city. The game moved to Houston. The - and New Orleans Saints is trying to get a franchise¹⁴, and the NFL made them integrate that city before they got a franchise.

So the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana had to promise NFL that they would get rid of racism. And the reason why I bring that up is to suggest that NFL organizations and teams, if they wanted to, could do something about racism in their cities.

GREENE: All right, learning that history there from Dr. Louis Moore, who is answering one of your questions about sports and activism - and we're going to answer more listener questions next month on a different sports topic. We'll keep you posted on the broadcast and also keep you posted on Facebook and Twitter. You can follow us - @MorningEdition.

1 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 amplify   

vt.放大，增强；详述，详加解说

参考例句：

• The new manager wants to amplify the company.新经理想要扩大公司。
• Please amplify your remarks by giving us some examples.请举例详述你的话。

4 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

5 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

8 waives   

v.宣布放弃( waive的第三人称单数 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• The surety waives in writing the right provided in the preceding paragraph. （三）保证人以书面形式放弃前款规定的权利的。 来自互联网
• In exchange, the tribe waives claim to similar water rights on non federal and private lands. 作为交换，部落放弃非联邦河私人土地上的类似水权。 来自互联网

9 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

11 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

12 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

13 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

14 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。