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senquezada29's review
4.0
Given the growing intensity and # of protests taking place on college/university campuses all over the nation right now over the U.S. support for genocide of the people in Gaza, this was a timely read. Although I was hoping to learn more about Kaepernick's personal experience in taking a knee, the book actually focused more on the many professional, collegiate, and even high school athletes who took a knee and protested in other ways before, during, and after Kaepernick's actions. Their stories were incredibly inspiring. Their moral clarity and courage to take action in the face of retribution, hate, threats, and even violent dissent sets a standard that most of us fall far short of meeting. The consistency and uniformity of the pushback they received is proof in itself that racism is systemic and systematic in our society. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to be inspired by our youth, but who also wants to understand why these athletes felt the need to protest in this way and why the opposition to it was so off base. MQ
tracithomas's review against another edition
3.0
This isn’t what I was expecting. Mostly interviews with folks who protested in their sports who were inspired by Kaepernick. It’s a little redundant. Some of stories are very powerful. Some are a little dull. Love Zirin’s constant reminder that sports are and have always been political.
justalittlejen's review
2.0
Subject matter was interesting. I wanted a little more analysis of the interviews or connections to history and the issues but I don’t fault the book for that because that isn’t really what it was about. Some sections were definitely stronger than others. Overall I appreciated hearing the stories of these individuals but the book felt a little drawn out and repetitive at times.
alkane5867's review
Poor writing. The stories are important, but I was looking for more analysis about the topic of race in sports, not just vignettes.
martha_w's review
4.0
Really powerful to read about the experiences of athlete-activists in their own words, especially the student-athletes. Faculty and staff at high schools and colleges should all read this.