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Like several stadiums across the NFL on Sunday, Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers, held a moment of silence before the game for the victims of Friday night's attacks in Paris. The moment was disrupted when a fan yelled what sounded like "Muslims suck!" This led to a few indecipherable outbursts before someone yelled, "Show some respect!"
Considering the seething animosity toward Islam showed by everyone from Facebook commenters to presidential candidates, the outburst was not surprising. What was surprising, though, was that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers addressed it, unprompted, in his postgame press conference. Rodgers fielded a question about the moment of silence at first like anyone else would, saying, "It is important do things like that." But then, after a pause, he went on to call out the fan for his anti-Muslim remark.
I must admit that I was very disappointed with whoever the fan was that made a comment that I thought was really inappropriate during the moment of silence. It's that kind of prejudicial ideology that I think puts us in the position that we're in today.
It's a testament to how embedded anti-Muslim sentiment is in American culture that criticizing a bigot is considered radical behavior, but it is—especially for a football player. As has been proved time and time again, the cloistered fraternity of the NFL is far from progressive. Hazing, gay-bashing and other behavior that wouldn't be tolerated if exposed to public scrutiny are commonplace.
Christianity also makes up a large part of football culture. In an ESPN the Magazine article published in August, Houston Texans running back Arian Foster "came out" as an atheist, becoming the first major professional athlete to do so publicly. The piece paints a portrait of religion's place in the league to show how radical Foster's stance actually is. One of the athletes quoted was Chris Kluwe, a former punter who has been an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage.
It's an implied social construct that of course you're going to say the Lord's Prayer before the game with your team—why wouldn't you? And of course there's going to be a military flyover—why wouldn't there be? These aren't requirements, but they're assumed requirements. Religion plays a big role in the NFL, but I think it's a structural role. It's like white-male privilege; it's hard to see the role it plays if your entire life has been lived within that structure. If you're a religious guy in the NFL, you don't see the problem. You're the one in it. You have chapel or Mass on Sunday before the game. You have Bible study during the week. It's built into the structure.
Rodgers is arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, and nothing short of murder could damage his reputation, especially in Green Bay. But in America, and particularly in the NFL (which has become a fetid microcosm of all of the country's most reprehensible characteristics), saying anything that could be construed as sympathetic to Muslims is taking a risk.
It's a vision reflected in the 2016 election cycle. Louisiana governor and fledgling presidential hopeful Bobby Jindal has joined other states in refusing to take in Syrian refugees. Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz both have said that the U.S. should focus on harboring Christian but not Muslim refugees. This rhetoric exposes the same kind of tacit bigotry that's been allowed to flourish throughout the NFL. Rodgers had nothing to gain by speaking up. He did anyway. It would be nice to see some politicians doing the same. Until they do, they're no better than a fan yelling slurs at a football game.