Former NFL running back Arian Foster was featured in an interview with Big Cat and PFT Commenter on today’s episode of Pardon My Take. As you may remember, Foster was among the group of NFL players, along with Colin Kaepernick, who knelt during the national anthem in 2016 to protest against police brutality and racial inequality. Clearly, he’s been at the forefront of addressing racial issues these past few years, so I was excited to listen to his banter with Big Cat and PFT (who are a couple of white guys, just FYI), especially given the current state of affairs in America.
I’d first like to give credit to Big Cat and PFT who, despite knowing that they’d probably receive some backlash for having Foster on the show to discuss racial issues, since PMT is supposed to be a show where people can escape the problems facing the real world, had him on anyway. Plus, given the comments I’ve seen in the Barstool blog’s comments section over the years, I think it’s fair to assume that a good chunk of PMT‘s listeners/Barstool supporters don’t share the same sympathies with the Black Lives Matter movement that Big Cat and PFT do. However, due to the latest civil unrest resulting from the unjust killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, even if you disagree with the protests, it’s extremely beneficial to expand your world view and at least understand where BLM is coming from.
These are my main takeaways from Foster’s interview:
The NFL (and all sports leagues) needs to be more proactive, not reactive.
Foster brought up the example of Ray Rice, who was indefinitely suspended from the league because of a domestic violence incident with his then-fiancee. He wrote a long letter and tried to contact Roger Goodell several times in hopes of having a conversation regarding domestic violence, but none of his attempts in contacting the commissioner were successful.
You have an opportunity to have a national conversation about domestic violence, because domestic violence isn’t an NFL football player problem…cops do it, firemen do it, military people do it, doctors do it. Domestic violence is a civil rights issue.
– Arian Foster on “Pardon My Take”
In one sense, I understand where the NFL is coming from…they’re just a football league. Is it really their place to speak out regarding social issues involving domestic violence, race, sexual orientation, etc.? At the end of the day, the NFL is a business, and like any business, it is their prerogative to make as much money as possible, which usually does not include pissing off fan bases across the league. However, the NFL is not a business like Microsoft and Apple, where you couldn’t name more than three people who work there. The NFL’s employees are world-famous athletes who (like it or not) carry the enormous responsibility of being role models for the youth of this world. And in being such, it’s important that the NFL is aware that when their players do engage in unacceptable behavior, they’re at the forefront of the conversation on a national stage and set regulations in place to dissuade those behaviors.
Similarly, he brought up the fact that Colin Kaepernick has been blackballed from the NFL, even though he shares the same ideals as the protesters right now, which the NFL now shares sentiments with. It just makes you think about how businesses will only support an issue when it’s convenient for them to do so. Here is the NFL’s official statement regarding the protests:
Feelings over facts.
[Polling] does not account for antecdotes. How can you quantify a police officer roughing you up? How can you quantify that? Who do you report it to? Where is that in your data? It’s not. How can you quantify decades of that?…That’s why police relations in inner-city communities are bad.
– Arian Foster on “Pardon My Take”
Being on the internet as much as I am, I see a lot of statistics about crime, and I’ll admit that I believe a lot of what I see. However, as I learned today, it’s impossible to quantify feelings in a database. Foster told a story about how he and his father were pulled over by a police officer on a road trip and were asked to exit their vehicle although they had done nothing wrong. The officer went on to empty their suitcases (presumably looking for contraband) and when he didn’t find anything, he told them they were free to go. I’m sure that if 99% of the officers on duty that day pulled up behind Foster’s car, nothing would’ve happened, but that 1% is what creates the distrust in the police department amongst the black community. And that’s something that can’t be quantified into a statistic.
I don’t agree with Foster that looting and destruction of property is okay.
You can rationalize the looting and destruction of property that we’ve seen across America the past few days as an inevitability in reaction to years of racial inequality, but I think it’s just idiots taking advantage of the situation. I saw businesses in Los Angeles and Santa Monica ravaged by looters over the weekend, and it completely contradicts the message of the protest.
Time after time again in American history…rioting and looting caused change in America.
I’m not an advocate for looting, I’m not an advocate for burning the building, but I’m also not saying “don’t burn the buildings”. I’m saying “feel how you feel”. Like, “fuck that building!”
– Arian Foster on “Pardon My Take”
I’m pretty sure that if you’re faced with the question “should I burn down this building?”, and your response is “feel how you feel”, you are 100% condoning that action. I understand that people are upset about George Floyd’s wrongful death, but in what way is looting Nordstrom’s, CVS Pharmacy, and small businesses doing anything to help the situation? If you think that it’ll bring more attention to the issue than hundreds of people marching down PCH shouting “BLACK LIVES MATTER!”, you’re wrong. Any group of people that large will attract just as much attention to the issue, except no laws will be broken in the process and you’ll preserve the community.
Also, shoutout to the people of Santa Monica who were already out cleaning the streets this morning after all the destruction yesterday; you have somewhat restored my faith in society.
Fix your world. Small victories inspire change
All you can do is your part – fix your world…Those small victories add up over time.
– Arian Foster on “Pardon My Take”
To end on a somewhat positive note (as corny as this is), be the change you want to see in the world. It’s hard to change other people’s perspectives and opinions on a large scale, but if you can address them and make changes within your own life, you’ve already made a difference. But, the first thing you have to do is acknowledge your own prejudices.
If you’re one of those people who say “I don’t see color” then you’re a fucking liar. That’s the most ignorant thing you can say. Maybe it’s time we need to have a conversation with ourselves and say “yes these are the elements of my life – these are the views that I have that contain harmful prejudices or elements of racism and here’s how they can be changed.”
It’s not easy to admit to yourself that you aren’t as open-minded or accepting of all people and cultures as you’d like, but the first step in becoming a better human is just being able to admit that to yourself. Yeah, I have prejudices too…but like PFT said, we all do! It’s just important to be mindful of those prejudices and not act on them, especially when they could be detrimental to someone around you or even yourself.
To let the cat out of the bag here, I am not black, so I will never know what it’s like to be black in America. However, after listening to Arian Foster’s interview, I’m more mindful now than ever that my experience in this country has been a lot different than others, and it’s important to keep that in mind regarding these protests. Not only are the protesters well within their rights to do so, but as long as it doesn’t get violent (some would argue violence is necessary), it sends a much-needed message to those in power that unlawful police brutality against racial minorities is detrimental to society and needs to be eliminated. And if you disagree with that last statement, I’d implore you to listen to Foster’s interview on Pardon My Take if you haven’t already and/or seek professional counseling because you have some deep-seated issues that really need addressing.
