Politics in Sports
The dehumanization of athletes has existed for as long as professional athletes have existed. Whether it was an acceptable death in a Roman gladiatorial match or a Fox News anchor telling NBA star LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” athletes have always been relevant based on their physical achievements and characteristics rather than beliefs or ideas. This idea that athletes are just bodies leads to an antagonistic dynamic that divides people and athletes based on disagreed principles and ideas. This is was made very apparent in the year 2020 following mass protests across the world following the murder of George Floyd in the United States. The outcry for change was amplified by modern social media to such a degree that had never been seen before. Many American athletes joined the call to action and for every supporter, there existed a detractor, waiting to dismiss the athletes’ point of view due to their profession and thus a perceived lack of intelligence.
American athletes distraught from years of systematic oppression and unfair policing in their communities as a consequence of this race-based exploitation have voiced their opinions on social media since its inception. PHOTO: AP
American athletes distraught from years of systematic oppression and unfair policing in their communities as a consequence of this race-based exploitation have voiced their opinions on social media since its inception. With the ability to respond or comment on the profiles and posts, people who held a view of opposition freely voiced their criticisms with a vitriolic tone that always seemed to demean experience or intelligence that immediately shut down any want to understand and divided people further. This has a propensity to go beyond social media when the athlete has a big enough platform.
James is an excellent example of an athlete who is consistently using his platform for social justice. His well-thought-out posts and HBO show The Shop allows James to use his platform for the good of others. James strives at using his platform without the use of television or the internet as well, whether it entails building a school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, giving millions of dollars to The Boys and Girls Club from the profits of his one time showing of his resolution to play for the Miami Heat dubbed The Decision or providing capital for an exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC surrounding Muhammad Ali’s social justice impact. For his actions, James is often painted as a “liberal elite” whose goal is to only advance his agenda with his platform. If it is not a criticism of intent, it’s a criticism of lack of knowledge drawing from the fact that James did not go to college, joining the NBA from high school. These criticisms of James lie in racist undertones as similar comparisons can be made in terms of charitable donations by white athletes to similar missions, yet James catches the brunt of condemnation from conservative voices. He’s proven time after time to not only be thoroughly educated on the topics he is passionate about, throwing out the idea of lack of intelligence comments and his brand and charity is also one that has never had a problem with being disingenuous or having a scandal about pocketing money otherwise marked for charity. These slanderous accusations originate from a lack of understanding fueled by ignorance and a distaste for people of color looking to topple the idea that someone could be so genuine and care about the advancement of their people.
Megan Rapinoe is another American athlete who uses her platform to generate support and spread awareness for social justice and equality. While James largely uses his platform for the uplifting of minority races, Rapinoe largely uses hers to amplify LGBTQ voices similarly. Rapinoe is more confrontational to her detractors going as far as to have a war of words with previous US President and firebrand Donald Trump. Her platform gives voice to LGBTQ people who for most of human history have been historically shunted or killed due to things out of their control. With all of the support because of her passion comes equal vitriol due to homophobic societal norms developed in the United States. Sadly, the hate is not hard to find at all, a quick search on Twitter in the latest tweets section provides a perspective into the people who feel that she is less than because of her message and principles. While Rapinoe is celebrated by numerous corporations and fans for her work with these communities, she’s never far from a conservative podcast host who feels she’s poisoning children’s minds with her platform.
It seems people in power have used ignorance to sew hatred and grow division between people. This comes into play with modern social media being so pervasive with the rise of time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As American athletes continue to voice their principles and urge change in their communities the people who disagree use their platforms in an attempt to disprove and create more confusion and ignorance amongst people who will listen. Most athletes chose a better path and rise above to not acknowledge the outside noise and thus not give it life.
In theory, the mixing of sports and politics is something that is frowned upon. Silence has often won when it comes to a collision between the two. However, in reality, the two coincide fairly frequently on, and off the field.
Official sporting organizations—UEFA, FIFA—have historically refused to let politics directly influence sports. One key example is that of the 1936 Olympics, held in Germany under Nazi rule. The United States and Great Britain were two of the many high-profile countries that competed in the games, despite the banning of some Jewish athletes. Past leader of the IOC Avery Brundage said, “the politics of a nation is of no concern to the International Olympic Committee.” Is this the same for all sports?
Her platform gives voice to LGBTQ people who for most of human history have been historically shunted or killed due to things out of their control. (FRANCISCO SECO | AP)
Traditionally, popular athletes have mirrored celebrity counterparts and stepped away from the political stage. Much like the pop stars and actors, a sportsperson is advised to keep their voice low when it comes to their political views. It’s not uncommon for athletes to be reprimanded when breaking these rules. In 2018, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wore a yellow ribbon, coinciding with Catalonia’s independence movement. This led to him being fined by the Football Association (FA) after the move was labeled “highly divisive.”
Football/Playing Politics
English culture has the love of football embedded into its core. Whilst many seldom at the idea of political issues being brought onto the pitch, it has seemingly become a rightful platform for various players to make a substantial change. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, schools in England were forced to close. As a result, millions of schoolchildren lost out on the ability to claim free school meals, an initiative intended to help low-income families. A lifeline for many families, the government initially refused to back down on their stance: that schools were closed, therefore, a child is not entitled to a free daily meal when learning from their own home.
England football player Marcus Rashford became a campaigner for child food poverty and was heralded by the public for effectively being the main driving force of feeding Britain’s children during crises. Why did he get involved? Speaking in his BBC documentary Marcus Rashford: Feeding Britain’s Children, he said, “There were times when there wasn’t any food, so you’d just go to sleep. The people that were closest to me knew about the situation my family and I were going through, but my teammates and coaches didn’t.” His personal ties with child food poverty were pinnacle in garnering a strong campaign, resulting in the British government doing a u-turn on their free school meal policy and choosing to offer it to families throughout the pandemic and over holiday periods.
Euros 2020
“Penalties, not politics”, are the words England players were subject to by Members of Parliament and fans alike. After a year of the delayed games, the 2020 Euros took place in various European countries throughout the summer of 2021. Among a heightened level of racism as a response to England losing the final to Italy—see here for an in-depth review of racism at the tournament by writer Lina El Rasheed —geopolitical issues also came into play.
In late June, the mayor of Munich requested that the German stadium be presented in rainbow colours during the Germany-Hungary match. This request—one to protest Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ law—was shot down by the UEFA. Sporting bodies tend to adhere to the idea that international events should be politically neutral. But do the players have a duty to take this stance too? Hungarian diplomat Peter Szijjarto said that “mixing politics and sports'' is “harmful and dangerous.” UEFA offered a statement: “UEFA, through its statutes, is a politically and religiously neutral organization. Given the political context of this specific request – a message aiming at a decision taken by the Hungarian national parliament—UEFA must decline this request.”
Whilst the mixing of sports and politics is prevented at an official level, it doesn’t stop the two from becoming intertwined, especially in the case of the Euros. Tensions ignited between Russia and Ukraine. What happened? The Ukrainian team wore a kit that had an outline of their country. In this case, it included Crimea, an area that Russia annexed in 2014. The further disruption came at the hands of Greenpeace protestors. But most notably, as with the Tokyo Olympics, controversy ultimately surrounded taking the knee. In an attempt to procure racial justice, some teams knelt in solidarity, others stood still intending to be a statement that more should be done to achieve the goal. Although being met with some support, England players were largely booed by England fans for the action.
The U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel labeled the move “gesture politics.” As Jordan Sancho, Marcus Rashford, and Bukayo Saka were targeted with online racist abuse after missing the penalties that led Italy to victory, Patel said she was “disgusted” by the abuse. Teammate Tyrone Mings actively spoke out saying, “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labeling our anti-racism message as gesture politics and then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.”