It’s long-since been established that athletes in America have some of the best platforms for acknowledging, or sparking, social trends. From Bill Russell, Michael Jordan and Brian Boswell, some of the first athletes whose personalities influenced the culture off the field or court, to today’s Lebron James, Colin Kaepernick and Marshawn Lynch, a wide variety of social movements have been amplified by those in sports.

Some have been more successful than others; when Bill Russell marched on Washington for the equal treatment of African Americans and teamed up with Muhammed Ali to defend religious rights, he became a figurehead for citizens that believed in his efforts. It’s impossible to calculate the change he influenced, but it’s also impossible to say those movements would have been the same without the support of a largely popular and accomplished athlete.

Brian Boswell was dismissed from the University of Oklahoma football team after wearing a shirt reading “National Communists Against Athletes” at the Orange Bowl, an outlandish attack on the NCAA, who had banned him from the game. The action didn’t have measured effect (he had tested positive for steroids, after all) but suspicions linger today about the quality of treatment athletes receive from the NCAA today (i.e. not receiving payment for their likeness in media that generates massive revenue for the organization). Boswell’s action may have been miscalculated at best, but it’s undeniable that he had a part to play in sparking conversation around the relationship between the NCAA and their athletes.

Today’s players have not been shy about using their platforms to express their beliefs. Lebron James has donned t-shirts with messages like “I Can’t Breathe” in reference to the strangling of Eric Garner, an act of solidarity. Wearing the shirt on National Television, James influenced millions of viewers. And most remarkably, the NFL’s Colin Kaepernick spearheaded possibly the largest controversy ever created by an athlete when he elected to sit during the national anthem before an NFL game in 2016.

Analyzing social movements makes it clear that everything, large or small, is either constructive or destructive.

When asked about the action, Kaepernick stated: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” His comment expresses his willingness to draw attention to issues that weighed on his mind, and his candor makes it hard to label that willingness as disingenuous. For these reasons, his kneeling was constructive. Like Boswell wearing a shirt that many found offensive, it sparked a conversation.

But Kaepernick’s actions and opinions can’t be considered as one of the most effective social movements quite yet. As more athletes follow in his footsteps, the movement is gaining the ability to become more destructive than constructive. With headlines of adversity between the races seeming to generate daily, it is important that our society’s most influential characters don’t give up on one another. As Americans it’s our duty to make this country one we all stand for.