Slavery in the 1800s is equivalent to modern professional sports, according to civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Joining FS1’s “Undisputed” on Monday, Jackson explained why he believes black professional athletes in America remain victims in today’s American sports landscape.
“It never was about the flag… The issue was about racial disparities.”@RevJJackson joins us to talk about the impact of of anthem protests pic.twitter.com/HRzoUKMwRM
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) October 23, 2017
“In many ways, it is oppressive. To go from picking cotton balls, to picking footballs and basketballs without freedom is not very much progress. It’s just a lateral move”, Jackson said to Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe.
But, the absurdity doesn’t end there. Rev. Jackson says that while all black athletes in America are modern slaves, black NFL players deal with the worst conditions of all.
“These guys don’t have guaranteed contracts. Unlike basketball. Unlike baseball, there are no guaranteed contracts. So, you stand today, but you don’t play tomorrow. That’s workplace harassment. That’s illegal.”
Jackson’s rhetoric is not only false, it’s also dangerous. For someone who claims to be a leader and scholar of civil rights, you would think he would see the clear distinction between Frederick Douglass and Ezekiel Elliott.
But, apparently not.