This year has been a rollercoaster in terms of politics. Some individuals were confusing their position on the field with a position in politics.
An athlete, according to Google, is a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise. There are multiple levels among the athletic community in terms of ability, experience and status.
This year, the public was approached with actions and words by professional athletes regarding their opinions on things that were happening in the political world. Some, even went as far to stir up controversy by protesting in their own way, deemed acceptable or not.
There had been a slight bit of allowance in terms of these protests because of the economic value and viewership of the specific athlete. “They should use their viewership to a point, but some of the athletes get a little annoying when I just want to see them play basketball or football,” senior tennis player, Elena Conway, said.
The unique atmosphere that surrounded the election was due to the advancement in social media and the involvement of individuals that have not had an impact in the past.
While protesting and spreading your educated opinions is encourage, there are certain ways to do it. It has been said an infinite amount of times that athletes are meant to be role models to the ones who look up to them.
“The people listening to their message could be biased,” senior lacrosse player, Maureen Sullivan, said. “That could end up being a negative thing.”
An issue with having athletes speak out is this idea of bias and the viewers will take what that athlete says as an absolute because of the envy they have for their abilities. The world is seeing more and more of these radical acts and they can be rooted back, in some cases, to an athlete’s actions and that influence on the public viewers.
“If they feel strongly about it they can speak out,” senior lacrosse player, Jen Robinson, said. “But if they don’t really care, they should keep quiet.”
Speaking out as an athlete can be a very beneficial way to spread a message across a vast majority of a group, but there are certain ways to do it. The words of an athlete should not be disrespectful, shameful or destructive in any way.
This is a lot like being a journalist because we strive to be truthful and not defame anyone in the process.
Regardless if you are a player on a college team or a professional team, standards apply for how you handle yourself and behave in general.
Being an athlete is a 24/7 job that come with a lot of responsibilities and are meant to inspire people of all ages. Act like it.
Peter Dahu, (I will respect you by spelling your last name correctly)
1. The national anthem is a time to reflect and respect the men and women that fight for our country, dating back to when it was written.
2. The military culture is what built this country in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s; just like baseball, it is celebrating our past time.
3. The purpose of this article was for politics and sports, never about race.
All the best,
The author (Steve Halloween)
The real problem author Steve Halloween has with athletes have with political opinions is that their politics don’t agree with Steve”s politics. If you truly want to get rid of politics from sports:
1. Take out the national anthem. The national anthem was introduced into sports as a way to get people to oppose communism. It is purely political.
2. Take the military out of pregame festivities. The fly-over is akin to military parades which reinforce a military culture.
3. Resegregate baseball. Jackie Robinson’s entry into the MLB was a major political statement.
As mentioned above sports and politics have always been wedged together. Demanding our athletes to be mindless drones ignores their own humanity. Claiming that athletes can be bias is round about way of saying athletes can not speak out with views the author opposes.