Years ago, when it came time to vote a new associate into a fraternity or club, members would place handwritten pieces of paper into a ballot box. To avoid recognizing an individual club member by their handwriting, a more anonymous means of casting votes was devised. It involved giving members a number of white and black balls to place inside a ballot box. A white ball signalled agreement with accepting the candidate, whereas a black ball represented a “no” vote. In many instances, just one black ball was all that was required to reject an individual. Soon the term “blackballed” or “blackballing” came into the lexicon. The term is used to define a person or people who have been rejected and/or ostracized by a particular club or group.
As an example, many say that former San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick was blackballed by the National Football League (NFL) when owners disagreed with his “taking a knee” during the playing of the national anthem. Kaepernick’s means of protesting racial inequality in the USA did not bode well with the NFL brass and he was ostracized from the league.