Sports fiction – The Ultimate Reviewer

For the first time, here is the full story of the NFL player protests that rocked a nation and turned our country upside down. This is the players’ side, one that has largely been ignored by the media.

On September 1, 2016, Colin Kaepernick took a knee before a preseason game. Little did he, nor anyone else, know the ramifications from that decision. Since being exiled from the National Football League, Kaepernick has stood strong against all those who have attacked him. He and others who took a knee against racial inequality and police brutality have been ridiculed, mocked, threatened, and some have even lost their jobs. They have feared for their safety and that of their loved ones.

But what made Kaepernick kneel, and the entire country turn a silent protest into a national pandemic? One person: President Donald Trump.

For the first time, veteran journalist Mike Freeman sits down with those directly involved in the protests—the players—to find out how things really went down. Readers will learn why they decided to protest, how racism and the murdering of innocent men of color directly affected them, how the politics of protest affected their professional and personal lives, and if anything has even changed for the better.

Including interviews with Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid, Kenny Stills, Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman, and numerous others, see first-hand how the media, President Trump, and the National Football League took a peaceful message for change and turned it on its head. They changed the narrative, accusing these men of being “anti-America,” “anti-military,” and “disrespecting the flag.”

In Football’s Fearless Activists, Freeman offers an opportunity to understand what these protests meant to the players, and how the hatred from the media, President, NFL owners, and some Americans was not only unwarranted, but anti-American.

Title: Football’s Fearless Activists: How Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid, Kenny Stills, and Fellow Athletes Stood Up to the NFL and President Trump

Author: Mike Freeman

Pages: 240

My review

“No one is free until we all are free” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Civil rights movements have a long history of struggle and oppression. People who dared to speak up will eventually targeted. The leaders were either gunned down or killed to shut their voices. Because they are perceived as a threat to white supremacy. But the fire inside millions of people of color cannot be extinguished as easily. The more they tried to oppress them, the more they rose against their oppressors. The modern-day history of America is filled with police brutality and racial injustice. Although the status has been changed a bit in recent times but not in the case of unjust murders of people of color by police officers. Amidst the height of protests, the killing continues. A government that is led by a white supremacist who takes pride in bashing protestors is not giving a little bit of hope. But the true change lies in the mindset of people. As much as they take pride in the tradition of their nation, they must take pride in the inclusiveness of the nation too.

The author, Mike Freeman, a veteran journalist take us through the vast history of civil rights movements in this book. The focus in this book is the life and activism of Colin Kaepernick. But he also includes the voices of other less-known NFL protesters such as Eric Reid, Kenny Stills, Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman, and numerous others. The interesting things that we can learn from this book how a peaceful protest which is backed by solid reason is changed into “anti-national”, “anti-cop”, “anti-military” protest. This is a true narrative of how the politicians and media turned this into a game and tackled the players through nailing down white supremacist ideologies.

Every protest came with a price. Here also many players, especially the face of NFL protests, Colin Kaepernick sacrificed his career to sustain the protests. Still, the situations are not even changed a bit. But just like Colin, many others are determined to end this racial injustice one day.

A great book that gives an unadulterated version of NFL protests with insiders view. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5

Name: Selection day
Author: Aravind Adiga
Publisher: HarperCollins

“Revenge is the capitalism of the poor: conserve the original wound, defer immediate gratification, fatten the first insult with new insults, invest and reinvest spite, and ke waiting for the perfect moment to strike back.”

Selection Day is the coming-of-age sports fiction by Booker prize winner Aravind Adiga. This novel is entirely centered around the passion of a sport, which is obviously the cricket. Being set in Mumbai, the novel explores the journey of two brothers Manju and Radha in the backdrop of cricket. It is a mix of a hierarchy of injustices, rags to riches dreams, sibling’s pressure, mutual jealousy and lastly the parental pressure. These are some points makes this book very special to every Indian reader. Because each and every one of us can relate these things in their life.

The story is about Mohan Kumar, a father who believes that his sons, Radha and Manju will one day become very successful cricketers and change their financial status. For this, Mohan relocates his family from Karnataka to Mumbai. He starts learning every aspect of cricket and starts to teach his sons cricket, based on his theories. Eventually, they caught the attention of a journalist who gets them a sponsorship. The true dilemma starts here. This new found ground leads them to disobey extremely domineering father, jealousies, competitions and what not. The web of purest emotions that are weaved in a way that makes us so deeply involved throughout the end of the novel. This plot tells us how heroes are made in India and how they are dropped at a single mistake. This is obviously something that we came across in our daily lives. We have seen too many stars being made and broken down from time to time, sometimes may be due to a single mistake. The book is beautifully written by Adiga which makes each and everyone to fall in love with. The complexity of emotions are narrated in an extraordinary style makes this book a must pick in your life.
Rating: 4/5

“O, I do read Indian novels sometimes. But you know, Ms Rupinder, what we Indians want in literature, at least the kind written in English, is not literature at all, but flattery. We want to see ourselves depicted as soulful, sensitive, profound, valorous, wounded, tolerant and funny beings. All that Jhumpa Lahiri stuff. But the truth is, we are absolutely nothing of that kind. What are we, then, Ms Rupinder? We are animals of the jungle, who will eat our neighbour’s children in five minutes, and our own in ten. Keep this in mind before you do any business in this country.”