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Behind the Shield
The Power & Politics of the NFL Featuring Dave Zirin 
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In Behind the Shield, celebrated author and Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin tackles the myth that the NFL was somehow free of politics before Colin Kaepernick and other Black NFL players took a knee. Digging deep into the history of the league, and navigating a stunning excavation of decades of archival footage and news media, Zirin traces how the NFL, under the guise of “sticking to sports,” has promoted wars, militarism, and nationalism; glorified reactionary ideas about manhood and gender roles; normalized systemic racism, corporate greed, and crony capitalism; and helped vilify challenges to the dominant order as “unpatriotic” and inappropriately “political.” The result is a case study not only in the power of big-time sports to disseminate stealth propaganda and reinforce an increasingly authoritarian status quo, but also the power of activist athletes to challenge this unjust status quo and model a different, more democratic vision of America.
Duration: 94 min
ISBN: 978-1-893521-14-8
Date Produced: 2022
Subtitles: English
Transcript
About Dave ZirinNamed one of UTNE Reader’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World,” Dave Zirin is the sports editor at The Nation magazine, their first sports editor in over 150 years of existence. He has been called “the best sportswriter in the United States,” by the New York Times icon Robert Lipsyte. He has written eleven books on the politics of sports, including the acclaimed biography Jim Brown: Last Man Standing. He is also the co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Things That Make White People Uncomfortable with former NFL player Michael Bennett. Zirin has brought his blend of sports and politics to multiple networks and television programs including ESPN’s Outside the Lines, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, CNN, and Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman. He has also been on numerous national radio programs from sports radio to National Public Radio’s Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, and All Things Considered. Zirin has also been an advisor to filmmakers ranging from Ken Burns to Ang Lee and has appeared in a number of documentaries. He also produced a segment on the forthcoming Showtime documentary about Dr. Harry Edwards. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the New York Daily News, New York Newsday, the Baltimore Sun, the Pittsburgh Courier, and many other publications.
CreditsProduced by the Media Education Foundation
Featuring Dave Zirin
Director & Editor: Jeremy Earp
Producers: Loretta Alper & Jeremy Earp
Co-Producer: Dave Zirin
Written by: Dave Zirin & Jeremy Earp
Archival Producer: Loretta Alper
Motion Graphics: Roger Stahl, Jeremy Earp
Executive Producer: Sut Jhally
Associate Producer: Jason Young
Director of Photography: Daniel Marracino
Additional Camera: Jason Mason
"Whether you love professional football or hate it, Behind the Shield is an indispensable contribution to the field of cultural studies, and an invaluable educational resource. Sport is an incredibly influential cultural institution, and football is the quintessential American sport. If you want your students to understand the many ways in which the sports/entertainment industry – especially the NFL – shapes dominant ideology on matters of race, gender, sexuality, militarism, and so much more, this film is your new best friend. People who watch and discuss it will come away with a much deeper understanding of the power of culture to reinforce the status quo – or to drive desperately needed change."
— Jackson Katz, Ph.D. | Author and creator of the award-winning Tough Guise video series
“Behind the Shield is terrifying and brilliant. After watching it, I now believe that you cannot understand this country without understanding NFL football. I will be showing this film in my classes FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.”
— Robin D.G. Kelley, Professor and Chair of History, UCLA
"Behind the Shield is a wonderfully produced and extraordinarily insightful analysis of the NFL that should be watched by anyone who has a serious interest in gaining a better understanding of the interconnection among football and American culture. With prominent sportswriter and critic Dave Zirin providing a balanced and thoughtful narrative grounded in historical facts and cogent interpretations, the documentary makes clear that the NFL brand has always been based on maintaining power, authority, and turning a profit while at once disseminating negative messages about race, manliness, militarism, and political activism."
— David K. Wiggins | Author of More than a Game: A History of the African American Experience in Sport and past president of the North American Society for Sport History
"A powerful commentary on the NFL's complex relationship with politics in America … Necessary to watch for athletes, parents, coaches, and for fans of the sport who deserve much better than what those who wield power continue to offer."
— Shireen Ahmed, Senior Contributor, CBC Sports | Co-host of the “Burn It All Down” podcast
“Don’t miss this grand documentary!! David Zirin is the most brilliant and courageous sports intellectual in America!”
— Dr. Cornel West, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Chair, Union Theological Seminary | Author, Race Matters
"WOW!!! There's a long way to go, but Behind the Shield is a big step forward. You have to see this movie."
— Roger Waters, Rock Musician, Co-Founder of Pink Floyd
"Dave Zirin is the premiere American writer on the intersections of sports and politics. This new film takes a steely look at the NFL and should put an end to the myth that sports are not always inherently political … for better or worse. More than this, Behind the Shield offers a compelling case study in how visual spectacles offer both reinforcement and resistance to political ideologies, and that politics is always inseparable from culture. Corporate corruption, militarization, violence, debilitating injuries, early deaths, hypermasculinity, homophobia, racism, misogyny, sexual abuse, these are as much of a part of professional football as spectacular catches and thrilling touchdowns. It takes the courage of Dave Zirin and the Media Education Foundation to conclusively show that the corruption of the NFL is not an anomaly but is endemic to its centrality in American culture. Ending on a note of hope and solidarity with activists and all who are working to change our culture, this film is sure to ignite critical inquiry and challenging conversations."
— Bill Yousman | Associate Professor, Department of Media and Performing Arts, Sacred Heart University
“Excellent! An incisive film that dispels the notion of ‘sticking to sports,’ pointing out the myriad ways the NFL has always been politically entwined, something many fans and commentators conveniently ignore. Zirin challenges viewers to consider whose interests are best served when the football establishment ‘politicizes’ certain athletes and storylines while continuing to both benefit from and advance institutional agendas in the name of serving fans.”
— Kavitha Davidson, Sports Journalist | Correspondent for HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” | Co-author, Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back
“Behind the Shield captures the many ways that the NFL has utilized its massive popularity to advance divisive and destructive politics. From the league's long tradition of enabling toxic masculinity at home to its role in supporting US militarism and wars abroad, this captivating documentary offers a hard-hitting and poignant look at how love for the game has been instrumentalized in pursuit of a particular kind of politics while stifling all manner of dissenting views and calls for justice. As Dave Zirin brilliantly demonstrates, long before Colin Kaepernick paid the ultimate price for taking a knee, the NFL proved time and again that in the broader struggles for justice and equality, it would so often be found on the opposing side.”
— Abdullah Al-Arian, Professor of History, Georgetown University | Editor, Football in the Middle East: State, Society & the Beautiful Game
"There’s something about truth when it is told unfiltered, straight, void of chasers, direct, immune to power or fear. What Dave Zirin has done with Behind The Shield is tell large truths of the NFL (and America itself) in a collective and comprehensive manner that forces all of us to re-evaluate why we’ve allowed this League to become publicly synonymous with who we claim to be as a society."
— Scoop Jackson, ESPN sports journalist | Author of The Game Is Not A Game
"Dave Zirin strips away the mediated public relations veneer of the NFL to expose the myths that football represents a pure patriotic version of American society and serves as a model of equal opportunity. His observations alert us to the antiquated and prejudicial values reproduced by the NFL and the athletes who resist the league’s power and influence."
— Jay Coakley | Professor Emeritus of Sociology at University of Colorado and co-author of Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies
“An extraordinary film about the history of our war-game. It shows brilliantly how football reflects our culture in the United States.”
— Dave Meggyesy, former NFL player, author Out of Their League
“Sport is politics by other means, and nothing hammers this home with as much weapons-grade ferocity as the National Football League. Behind the Shield is an unflinching investigation of the NFL from an array of angles, an engaging excavation of how the league’s cultural and political values encourage toxic masculinity, promote dime-store patriotism, and ultimately reinforce the status quo. In this indispensable film, Dave Zirin narrates a rollicking tour de truth across football’s dark underbelly, throwing a spotlight on the militarism the NFL promotes, the abuse of women that its honchos condone, and the Indigenous mascots it quizzically embraces. Behind the Shield makes it clear that sport bodies can sometimes be more effective politically by being less explicitly political. But this film is not just gloom and doom—it shows the glimmers of hope emerging from the courageous people who are standing up against this juggernaut of injustice. This is, quite simply, a must-see film.”
—Jules Boykoff , Professor of Political Science, Pacific University | Author, Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics
"Many millions of people, mostly in the United States, are big fans of American football. I cannot be counted among them, reliably tuning in only to the Super Bowl because it is a noisy spectacle with intense sporting contact, expensive advertisements, and a much-hyped halftime musical performance. So, it is a tribute to Behind the Shield that this otherwise detached viewer was absorbed by a beautifully constructed and critically penetrating documentary. Its use of evocative archive material is especially impressive, including a tiny cameo by Beatle John Lennon, who was to be a victim of the culture of violence that the film critiques. Dave Zirin ably takes us through the NFL’s bombastic corporate history of playing racialized, nationalistic and militaristic politics while punishing players for asserting their own right to political expression. A vivid work of social, cultural and political history, it is both a record of infamy and resource of hope. I recommend it to anyone seeking a deeper, critical understanding of the ideological uses and abuses of sport in the USA."
— David Rowe | Emeritus Professor of Cultural Research, Western Sydney University, Australia and author of Sport, Culture and the Media: The Unruly Trinity
"This thought-provoking and carefully documented film challenges us to rethink our assumptions about the NFL and its place in our lives. By delving into the game’s past and examining difficult questions about its present, Behind the Shield shows how the NFL has shaped the politics of manhood, war, and race, and invites us to imagine a different and better future for the game."
— Thomas Oates | Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Iowa and author of Football and manliness: An unauthorized feminist account of the NFL
"David Zirin offers us a timely and confronting documentary that details how the battlefield of sport reflects and reproduces the historical and contemporary contested terrain of American politics. Behind the Shield reveals how the NFL represents a key site of power linked to America’s military, gender, race, sexual and social class order – the ultimate exercise of sportswashing."
— Steve Jackson | Professor of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Otago, New Zealand
“As an educator, Behind the Shield will be essential viewing in my classroom, not only grabbing the attention of my students but also propelling them into discussions about the distribution of power in our society. As a sports fan, the film will also be indispensable for understanding the many messages we internalize while cheering for our favorite teams. Get your rowdy friends together and watch Behind the Shield — Monday Night Football will never look the same again!”
— Jesse Hagopian, Teacher and Co-editor, Black Lives Matter at School
“In Behind the Shield, Dave Zirin brutally exposes the racism, sexism and greed of the NFL war machine while leaving hope that the players will shake loose of their fake masculinity to save the game and the country. A must watch.”
— Robert Lipsyte, Longtime New York Times sports reporter and columnist | Author, SportsWorld: An American Dreamland
"Pretending to stand outside of politics has long been a potent strategy in the exercise of political power. Behind the Shield offers a masterclass on how the NFL executes this sleight of hand. It shows how and why the League sets a worldwide standard for seductive corporate propaganda and exploitative profit accumulation. Guided by Dave Zirin’s engaging commentary and incisive analysis, this film is essential viewing for anyone interested in sport, politics, media, nationalism, militarism, race and gender."
— Brett Hutchins, Professor of Media and Communications, Monash University, Australia, and author of Sport Beyond Television
“Let’s make it plain: Dave Zirin bum rushes the show!”
— Chuck D, Hip-hop pioneer | Frontman & Co-Founder, Public Enemy
“Dave Zirin is one of the foremost thought leaders on the intersection between sports, race, and politics. In Behind the Shield, his thoughtful critiques of the most powerful brand in sports are both necessary and patriotic.”
— Jemele Hill, Sports Journalist | Contributing Writer, The Atlantic
"Behind the Shield is an exceptional exposé of why American football fans' and the NFL's demand that we shouldn't insert ‘politics in sports’ is itself so political: a vocal and visual assertion of power that is usually quiet and invisible. A must-watch."
—Soraya Chemaly, Author, Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger
“With sharp analysis, stunning media, and Zirin’s fearless rhetoric, Behind the Shield provides essential and powerful context for understanding the NFL’s profound political and cultural investments and influence. The collision of NFL football, nationalism, militarism, and the reinforcement of ideologies of oppression based on race, class, and gender are laid bare – pulling back the curtain on the power structure and political investments of the NFL owners and industry. Ending with hope, Behind the Shield centers the overlooked voices and bodies of the players, young and old, who have long fought for change within the league and society, reclaiming a history and forging a future of thoughtful engagement for justice and social change that also exists ‘behind the shield.’”
— Dr. Diane Williams, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, McDaniel College
“If there’s any journalist who has mastered the nexus of sports and politics, it’s Dave Zirin. Behind the Shield is packed with Zirin’s expertise, insight, and incisive commentary from years of covering a field that he’s come to define. The film takes viewers through a history of the NFL’s response to political activism, from segregation to the Vietnam war and the Black Lives Matter movement. It makes a compelling case for how the NFL has sold war and patriotism for years while marginalizing politics that push for progress and equality. Told through a rich trove of archive, Behind the Shield will leave viewers with a clear understanding of what it means to take on the NFL’s power establishment and what professional football has come to embody. Given the power and influence of the NFL, Behind the Shield is a must-watch whether you’re a football fan or not.”
— Laila Al-Arian, Executive Producer of “Fault Lines” on Al Jazeera English
"In America, people have been telling athletes to ‘shut up and play’ forever. But in this doc, Dave Zirin dissects the hypocrisy of that critique. The same NFL that made us walking billboards for every cause it felt fit to support wants to tell those same players to be silent about the issues that impact our lives, our communities, and our future. Yet they are still comfortable propping up the status quo of militarism, colonialism, conservatism, and violent masculinity every opportunity they get. Their vision of America is a whitewashed illusion that they don't want muddied by the harsh reality of Black protest. But their tool for social engineering has now become a weapon that they use against any player brave enough to step out of line and challenge the system itself. No wonder they call it America's Game. What's more American than that?"
— Aaron M. Maybin | Former NFL Linebacker | Educator, Artist, Author
“This film is a reminder of why Dave Zirin is a singular, definitive voice in the world of sport. Opening with his own childhood love of football, Dave invites all of us who love the game to join him as a fellow explorer. With him we discover the painful truths of how the NFL exploits its own players and fans to serve selfish and narrow ends. Dave convincingly demonstrates that football is indeed the most American sport, then deftly deconstructs just what that Americanness implies. There is the brutality of racism, violence, militarism, and hypermasculinity, but also there is the courageous resistance and unyielding commitment of those who love America enough to, as James Baldwin wrote, ‘insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.’
If you're feeling ready for some football — watch this film. If you think you know the story of Colin Kaepernick — watch this film. If you think politics don't belong in sports — watch this film. Watch this film."
— Melissa Harris-Perry | Host of The Takeaway | The Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University
"Behind the Shield exposes the NFL’s lucrative, regressive embrace of hypermasculinity, whiteness, and unreflective patriotism while brilliantly also helping viewers to envision more progressive and democratic ways to organize sport."
— Mary G. McDonald, Homer C. Rice Chair of Sports and Society, Georgia Institute of Technology
"In Behind the Shield, Dave Zirin offers a compelling and comprehensive look at the cultural politics of the nation's most popular sports league. Using historic film, news clips, and images, Zirin adeptly moves between the NFL's relationship with politics and militarism to its co-opting and marketing of Blackness. It explores concussions, bodily injury, and exploitation, alongside the rise and repression of athletic activism. By drawing all of these threads together, Behind the Shield offers a stark portrait of the NFL that compels viewers to consider the power, pitfalls, and possibilities of its continued cultural impact. This film is sure to be an invaluable resource for those who teach critical sports studies, history and sociology of sport, sports journalism, and more."
— Amira Rose Davis, Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas-Austin | Co-host of "Burn it All Down"
"You may not care about football—but Dave Zirin’s riveting documentary about the NFL reminds us that we have a stake in understanding how powerful the NFL is in shaping our country, culture, and politics. If you care about the impact of sports on power, patriotism, race, manhood, and militarism, Behind the Shield is a must-watch.”
—Katrina vanden Heuvel | Editorial Director & Publisher, The Nation
"Sport scholars have documented and dissected the cultural politics of sport extensively in recent years. This documentary, narrated with characteristic verve and passion by the Nation's Dave Zirin, brings these ideas to life using America's most popular and problematic sport."
— Douglas Hartmann | Author of Race, Culture and the Revolt of the Black Athlete: The 1968 Olympic Protests and Their Aftermath
“A provocative, eye-opening documentary that upends conventional wisdom. We watch NFL football games as fans, as we marvel at how nothing else magnetizes a comparable television audience. We engage in debates over whether players are politicizing the game by kneeling during the National Anthem. But what Dave Zirin dares show is the political and patriotic and violent and sometimes misogynist messages the games embrace. You may not agree with everything in this documentary. But it will compel you to ponder, deeply.”
— Ken Auletta | Media Critic for The New Yorker
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