Should Athletes be Allowed to get Political?

More so than any other country, the U.S. has struggled with whether or not sports and politics should be mixed. On the other hand, the entertainment industry has had a long history of being “political.” Since the beginning actors, writers, directors, and executives have used their platform to be activists and speak out on the most important political issues of the time. Especially today, fans turn to their film and TV idols in order to see how they think about current political issues. With sports it has been a different story. The balance of how much sports and politics should mix has long been discussed, but in today’s political climate the topic has become a highly debated topic on all sides of the aisle.

As New York Times writer Jay Caspian Kang pointed out:

“Trump’s presidency, with its daily explosions, has made it impossible to cover pro sports, even in the simplest box-score ways, without detouring onto the White House lawn. This comes, in part, from the way basic sports coverage works. Reporters ask questions before and after every game, and when the only thing anyone wants to talk about is Trump, some of those questions will be about the president.”

The fact is, is that sports and politics have always been intertwined. When you attend a sporting event in the US you are surrounded by politics. We stand, remove our hats, face the American flag, and sing the national anthem in unison. At NFL football games flyovers are a staple. Still, many argue that athletes should “stick to sports” and focus on their talents on the field, in the pool, or on the court rather than be advocates for political issues they believe in. Today, Colin Kaepernick has been at the forefront of this issue.

[Colin Kaepernick, right]

Last season, Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, set off a national debate when he knelt during the national anthem before games. He said that his actions were a way to shine light on police violence and racial injustice. Now, Kaepernick is a free agent and unable to find a job. Despite your views on the quarterbacks actual football talent, the situation leads to an interesting debate on how teams might be steering clear of him because of his controversial stance.

So should sports and politics mix?

We should welcome athletes to use their platforms to speak out and share their opinions. Many athletes have an incredibly large followings and should be able to educate and make their fans aware of political issues that they are passionate about. Whether we agree with their beliefs or not, we should at least be aware of what our favorite athletes think and be free to make our own judgements based off of our own knowledge. Sports should be allowed to get political. We hold athletes on such a high pedestal, why not allow for their pedestal to mean more than just their talent in a respective sport. We should let them do more with their talent and platform.

Great so now what?

At the end of the day, the real problem lies not in whether or not we as sports fans think our athletes should be political but in how the different sports leagues handle politics. Specifically certain leagues have an almost allergic reaction to addressing political issues. Maybe if Kaepernick were a basketball player, things would be different. In the NBA politics is embraced from the highest positions in the league all the way down to the players. The NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, permanently banned Donald Sterling, the former owner of the LA Clippers who was caught on tape using racist language. When several NBA players wore "I Can't Breathe" shirts in protest of police brutality Silver stated that, although it would be his preference for the players to wear their league approved warm-up gear, he “[Respected] Derrick Rose and all of our players for voicing their personal views on important issues... [and] the players [wouldn't] be fined. Top coaches such as Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors and Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, have been widely outspoken about Trump. NBA star Steph Curry severed ties with Under Armour after the chief executive of the company referred to Trump as a “great asset” for the country. Curry said, “There is no amount of money, there is no platform I wouldn’t jump off of, if it wasn’t in line with who I am.” The political reality is that the NFL, compared to the NBA, consists of a largely conservative group of owners as well as fans who didn’t support Kaepernick’s actions last year.

[Part of the Los Angeles Lakers team]

In a time with greater transparency thanks to the emergence of technology and specifically social media, athletes should be encouraged not only from their fans but also their leagues to be outspoken about political issues. The leagues need to see that sports aren’t just about the game. Sports are also about the nature of fandom and celebrity and how we as fans give our favorite athletes the platform to enact social and political change.

Belson, Ken. “The Problem With Kaepernick’s Political Views: He Plays Football.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 June 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/06/16/sports/football/colin-kaepernick-free-agency-nfl-nba.html?mcubz=0.

Kang, Jay Caspian. “Should Athletes Stick to Sports?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Feb. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/magazine/should-athletes-stick-to-sports.html?mcubz=0.