I have a mantra that I often spout in moments like these, moments when finding clarity, finding space to think, can be hard. Listen to athletes for a change.
Over the past few weeks, especially in Maine and Minnesota, federal immigration officers have engaged in aggressive immigration enforcement operations. In Minneapolis, these actions have resulted in fatal shootings of civilians, most recently a 37-year-old ICU nurse named Alex Pretti, sparking fierce protest and debate regarding federal power, the use of deadly force, civil liberties, racial justice, public safety, and the enormous chasm between the official “here is what happened” report and what people see via their own sets of eyes.
In the midst of the public outcry, professional athletes are speaking up, ensuring that the sports world is weighing in heavily on the political moment. We would do well to listen to them.
The history of American athletes taking a stand is a long one. From Muhammad Ali’s refusal to go to Vietnam and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s black gloved fists in the name of civil rights at the Olympics in the 1960s to more recent stances taken as part of Black Lives Matters and beyond, athletes’ voices help broaden the debate. Whether talking about police violence, immigration policy, civil rights, gender equity, or community safety, athletes don’t stop being who they are and what they believe in when they take to the court, the ice, or the field.
In the last week, players -- and their fans -- have used their platforms to speak out against federal tactics that have brought fear, violence, and grief into American cities. They are not trying to assume the role of pundit or politician, but rather stand as citizens who have a spotlight at their disposal, a spotlight that they built and a spotlight that they can choose to use how they see fit, representing communities that are hurting.
Athletes are often treated as if their voices don’t matter, as if physical excellence cancels out moral insight. Exemplified when Laura Ingraham told Lebron James in 2018 to “shut up and dribble,” the refrain about athletes is familiar: be grateful for what you have and just play the game. But athletes are public figures, part of a system that profits from their skills, their work ethic, and their bodies. And when they have something to say, we should listen, because for many of these athletes -- athletes of color, immigrant athletes, female athletes -- the issues of the day are not theoretical. They are lived realities.
The voices now are many. Jordan Thompson. Jessie Diggins. Tyrese Haliburton. Kelly Pannek. Cheryl Reeve. Steve Kerr. Angel Reese. Isiah Thomas. Christen Press. John Randle. Nikki Hiltz. Megan Rapinoe. Victor Wembanyana. Breanna Stewart. Napheesa Collier. The NBA Players Association statement that its players could “no longer be silent.” The moment of silence by Timberwolves fans after the team delayed its game against the Golden State Warriors by a day after Pretti’s death, and by Frost fans before their team squared off against the New York Sirens. The open letter that the Vikings, Wild, Timberwolves, Lynx, Minnesota United FC, and the Twins published asking for “an immediate de-escalation of tensions.”
All of these stances, these statements, are important, reaching people who might never tune into a newscast or read an editorial, who don’t have a family dinner to discuss the day’s issues or a classroom to learn about them. When sport speaks up, it expands our conversations, making it harder to pretend that what is happening in Minnesota or Maine is someone else’s problem.
And let’s be clear: you don’t have to agree with what they say. But you should take them seriously as participants in our public life and understand that civic responsibility doesn’t end at the edge of a playing surface. They aren’t ruining sport. Rather, they are demanding a seat at the national table, reminding us that justice doesn’t get a time out.
So, listen to athletes for a change. Not because of the jersey they wear but because they are standing up to tell their truths in a moment that demands it. Don’t ask them why they’re speaking out and don’t tell them to just “stick to sports” or to stay in their lane. Instead, ask yourself if you’re willing to listen.
Amy Bass is professor of sport studies and chair of the division of social science and communication at Manhattanville University. Bass is the author of ONE GOAL: A COACH, A TEAM, AND THE GAME THAT BROUGHT A DIVDED TOWN TOGETHER, among other titles. In 2012, she won an Emmy for her work with NBC Olympic Sports on the London Olympic Games.
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