As ESPN’s month-long commemoration of Black History Month continues, Outside the Lines examines the recent involvement of athletes in social protests. The program, with T.J. Quinn as the reporter on the piece, airs today (ESPN, 3 p.m. ET).
For producer Nick Aquilino, the report filled a void.
“It was something that we needed to touch upon as OTL and as a company,” he said. “That was what was most important.
– OTL producer
Nick Aquilino
“We all saw what was going on around the country and it really wasn’t addressed,” he said, “so I think we needed to go out and find the athletes who were putting themselves on the line and trying to make a difference. We had some challenges finding people to speak on camera. I think it came down to comfort level.”
Among the athletes interviewed in the feature are David West of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and Andrew Hawkins of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
“David West said in the piece social media was a big thing,” Aquilino said. “Athletes aren’t afraid to go out and speak their mind on social media because it’s a safe way to do it. But as long as they’re going out doing something, they’re reaching their fans, and if that’s how they want to make a statement, at least they trying to make an impact.”
Also interviewed in the piece is John Carlos, former member of the U.S. Olympic team, who was part of a controversial protest at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
“He [Carlos] was interested from the moment we reached out,” Aquilino said. “When we were writing the script and putting together how we wanted to approach this, we felt it was important to set up at the top of the piece what exactly that protest in ’68 was. A lot of younger people see the image of John Carlos and Tommie Smith on the Olympic podium, but don’t understand it’s true meaning, so I think we did a pretty good job of tying it up right at the top.”
