An Analysis of Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe, and the National Anthem Protests

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Facebook narrative surrounding Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe’s activism as crafted through user comments on their respective public Facebook pages following the athletes’ protests during the national anthem. A total of 85,649 users’ comments were collected and analyzed within the context of framing. The themes emerging from the data suggested a strong nationalistic narrative, with some accompanying narratives addressing the issues Kaepernick and Rapinoe desired to highlight through their activism. The nationalistic frames discussed what constituted American values and the consequences for not conforming to those values. The non-nationalistic themes targeted the social issues related to the two athletes. In terms of differences between the two athletes, users attacked Kaepernick’s specific characteristics (i.e., race and sex), while Rapinoe’s data contained discussions surrounding the role of athletes. Implications of these findings will be discussed further.