From color guards and hosting military families to scheduling military appreciation nights and producing military-inspired apparel, supporting the military is something that sports leagues across the U.S. take very seriously, and rightfully so.
Yet after Arlington Cemetary scrubbed links to information on Black, Latino and women soldiers from its website due to this administration’s ridiculous anti-DEI decree across federal agencies, these same leagues have gone silent.
Last week, word spread quickly that the history of Black, Latino and women soldiers who served and died for this country could no longer be found on the website of Arlington National Cemetary.
“We are proud of our educational content and programming and working diligently to return removed content to ensure alignment with Department of Defense instruction 5400.17 and Executive Orders issued by the President,” said an Army spokesperson to The Independent. “We remain committed to sharing the stories of military service and sacrifice to the nation with transparency and professionalism, while continuing to engage with our community in a manner that reflects our core values.”
Yet if visitors want to know about the “lists of notable graves, walking tours and educational material pertaining to Black, Hispanic and women veterans, as well as some Medal of Honor recipients,” they can no longer do so.
This situation should infuriate everyone, regardless of gender or the color of their skin, especially the sports world.
Yet no league or so-called patriotic athlete has uttered a word in protest or anger over this action.
Now why is that? (complete sarcasm as we all know the answer).
Remember the outrage when Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the Anthem to protest police brutality and support social justice change? Where is that energy for these war heroes?
Angry protests are erupting over Elon Musk’s destruction of the VA, which will impact veterans in every way. Where’s that same outrage over the actions of Arlington Cemetary, especially from the sports world?
The NFL produces camouflage-inspired hats and hoodies and hosts its “Salute to Service” initiative throughout the entire month of November.
“Salute to Service represents our year-round commitment to the military community, and we are proud to recognize and honor our country’s service members, veterans and their families,” said Commissioner Goodell in a statement.
The NBA has an entire “Hoops for Troops” program which includes military appreciation nights and discounts for “active and retired service members and their families.”
The NFL’s percentage of Black players is 53%; the NBA’s is a little over 70%.
So where’s their fury over the erasure of Black military history?
Where is the anger over the scrubbing of information for Black military heroes like General Colin Powell, boxing champion Joe Louis, Supreme Court Chief Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Contraband militia of freed slaves, the Buffalo Soldiers of the Spanish American War, and the Tuskegee Airmen and 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of World War II?
There have been multiple movies, TV series and documentaries on the Tuskegee Airmen.
Last year, Tyler Perry released “The Six Triple Eight”, a film that told the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-black, all-female battalion, in World War II.
Currently, Black, military and American history is being snatched away right before our eyes, but the same leagues and athletes who support the military have given nothing but crickets on the issue.
If you support the military, support the ENTIRE military irrespective of skin tone or gender.
Unfortunately, that support is apparently only reserved for certain months, promotions and types of military personnel.
If it wasn’t, the sports world would be in an uproar over what’s happened at Arlington Cemetery.
Black athletes who claim to support the military, especially those who have family who served/serve, or those who have served themselves, should especially be taken to task over this issue. You or your loved ones fight/fought to protect this country, but where is your fight to protect the history of those who died protecting this country?
The current anti-DEI movement is a movement fueled by racism disguised as a call for merit.
If that weren’t true, the page for US Army Major General Charles Calvin, a Vietnam War veteran and recipient of the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military decoration, wouldn’t have been removed from the defense department’s website. He was the “highest-ranking African American to receive the medal”, was buried in Arlington Cemetary and had a bridge in his hometown of Fayette County, West Virginia named after him, yet his legacy is currently gone from the department he heroically served.
While Arlington Cemetery claims that this content would be republished after being “reviewed and updated”, aka whitewashed, it does nothing to hide the fact that this is the erasure of Black history AND American history that should be available to all.
I have said consistently that sports have the power to bring change, and the same is true again here. But once again, it has gone silent over something that they enthusiastically support each season.
Hopefully, these leagues and athletes will wake up, read about these great men and women and join the outrage regular individuals are expressing over this erasure of history.
Oh, I forgot. They won’t be able to read about these Black, Latino and women heroes because their stories are now “404 errors” on the site of their final resting places.
