The St. Louis Rams' 'hands up' protest wasn't a one-time incident, argues one prominent sociologist. It's the start of many such actions across the country.
Dr. Harry Edwards believes that the actions, which are done in an homage to the shooting death of Mike Brown and as an act of solidarity with the social movement stemming from unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, aren't motivated by emotions that will die out quickly.
Instead, the undercurrent of inequity driving protests across the country will likely inspire similar actions at the college football level, and even among NBA teams.
He sees activism among athletes on the rise, starting with the Miami Heat's decision to don black hoodies in response to Trayvon Martin's death -- and the subsequent decision not to hold a trial.
"I knew that [the Heat's activism] would open the door, and then came the Michael Sam situation, Jason Collins -- where athletes tweet their support," Edwards said. "And now we have this situation with the St. Louis Rams football players, which I am elated about, and I think there will be more.
"I think you’re going to see hands-up demonstrations at the college level. I think you’re going to see hands-up demonstrations more in the NFL and also in the NBA."
Edwards told CBS Sports' The MoJo Show that there are many complex issues mixing together in the Ferguson situation -- and minority members of the professional sports community are connected to many of them.
The full radio clip can be listened to here:
"There's always going to be push-back when it comes to sports because people tend to see sport participants as one-dimensional people," Edwards says. "They come to see you for what you do on the court, on the athletic field ... But they forget that all sports participants are really total human beings.
"They just happen to do one thing better than anybody else in the world: play basketball, play football, hit a golf ball, hit a tennis ball and so forth."
