NFL
By: Zachary Draves
Former NFL player Brendon Ayanbedajo has been a man ahead of his time. Throughout his career, he took stands on social issues before it became popular to do so.
(Courtesy: Baltimore Ravens)
In 2009, while playing for the Baltimore Ravens, he openly supported marriage equality when a majority of Americans didn’t. His advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community led to Maryland State Delegate Emmett C. Burns Jr issuing a letter to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti in 2012, demanding that he “take the necessary action” to stifle Ayanbedajo. The Ravens stood by him and he received widespread support from his fellow players.
Four years later, Ayanbedajo joined Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe in signing an amicus brief before the Supreme Court supporting the overturning of California’s Proposition 8, a ballot which prohibited marriage equality in 2008. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court upheld a 2010 federal court ruling that declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional.
(Courtesy: NoH8 Campaign)
A decade later, Ayanbedajo’s feelings towards the Supreme Court have shifted along with many other Americans after it declared on June 29th that affirmative action in higher education to be unconstitutional. The ruling essentially ends the consideration of race in college admissions.
A dramatic paradigm shift that doesn’t shock Ayanbedjao in the least.
“I’m not surprised by the direction,” he said. But we understand the inequalities that minority men and women face. “
Inequalities that he witnessed firsthand while attending UCLA in the 1990s. At the time, Ayanbedajo was playing for a Bruins team that was in the midst of a run that included winning the 1997 Cotton Bowl and finishing with a 10-2 record.
(Courtesy: Tom Hauck /Allsport)
Still, Ayanbedajo, who was first team all-Pac-10, realized he and other college athletes of color were expected to be pigeonholed into using their bodies for the amusement of others and not their minds to enrich themselves.
“You would go to UCLA and for the most part you wouldn’t see too many students that looked like you unless they were entertaining you, he said.” “Sometimes you want to break away from the student athlete mold.
That opportunity to break away came during his senior season in 1998.
Two years prior, California passed ballot measure Proposition 209, which prohibited affirmative action in education as well as government contracting and employment. The law was officially implemented in 1998.
At the time, there was a movement on the campus of UCLA in opposition to Prop 209. In addition there were statewide and national protests featuring prominent political figures such as Coretta Scott King, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Dolores Huerta.
(Courtesy: AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
A few weeks before his untimely death, rap icon Tupac Shakur joined Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight, Danny Boy, and MC Hammer in a Prop 209 protest that was in conjunction with the Brotherhood Crusade and famed community leader Danny Bakewell.
Ayanbedajo was caught in the swirl and found himself in a room with some of his teammates and the Black Student Union to discuss how to express their continued animus. Also in that room was 1968 Olympian John Carlos, best known for his iconic black power salute alongside Tommie Smith.
“We met with John Carlos and he said you guys have an opportunity to create history,” he said.
There had been rumblings about some on the football team making a statement, but hearing the words of Dr. Carlos was enough to squelch any hesitation. Ayanbedajo joined teammates Ramogi Huma and Larry Atkins in bringing the team together to discuss what statement they would make.
While there was some disagreement on the part of some, the rest decided they were going to wear black wristbands during their big game against the Miami Hurricanes on December 5, 1998.
“We met with our fellow teammates and we met with our white teammates and we let them know what we were going to do and we didn’t tell the coaches,” said Ayanbedajo.
The #3 Bruins were coming into the game undefeated and needing this one win to secure a spot in the national championship game. Miami was denied a shot at winning the Big East title after they endured a blowout loss to Syracuse 66-13 the previous week.
UCLA were 9.5 favorites to win the game. For the players eager to make a statement about diversity and inclusion, there was no better time to express themselves than before a nationally televised audience.
However, Coach Bob Toledo got word of the wristbands and three days before the game he called the players together and asked them to hold off on the protest in order to not run the risk of team disunity.
Ayanbejdao and the players wouldn’t back down and the discussion over the protest dominated the team’s Friday meeting, just one day before the biggest game of their lives.
The game itself was close but in the 4th quarter, the Hurricanes outscored the Bruins 21-7 to come away with 49-45 victory and dashing the Bruins hopes for a national championship.
UCLA did make it to the Rose Bowl, but due to the inaugural Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system, that game was designated as the national title game. The Bruins lost to the Wisconsin Badgers 38-31.
The game continues to be subjected to debate with some including quarterback Cade McNown and offensive tackle Kris Farris attributing the apparent lack of unity due to discussions about the protest for the Bruins lost.
But for Ayanbedajo, he did what he thought was right and that mentality still lingers.
“I love UCLA just like I love America,” he said. “We want to continue to do what we can to make it better.”
Twenty five years later, the landscape of sports has changed dramatically to where it is much more commonplace for athletes to speak out on political and social matters. So much so that on college campuses, the culture at large is much more tolerant, but Ayanbedajo would like to see more.
(Courtesy: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
“I am hoping that institutions and teams, if they are tolerant, can be more accepting and more encouraging,” he said. “I think we are always progressing, it is not linear, but we are always progressing.”
He recognizes the mixture of urgency and anxiety that comes with deciding to speak up, but having been on the frontlines, he also says it is worth it.
“If you are on the right side of history, there is always space for you to speak your truth,” he said. “It is not going to be easy, there might be sacrifices, but if you look back, the long term effects will be worth it. As long as you calculate it properly and make it positive there is always in the long run there will always be room for positive impact and a positive experience.”
