“Stick to sports.” It is the oft-repeated response of people to athletes that attempt to venture into politics, one repeated ad nauseam. People often insist that sports and politics never go together, that sporting events have never been the location to make statements or for the two to intermix.
That is a blatant lie.
Sports have often been a battleground in some form, whether through making statements, protesting, or otherwise.
Exhibit A: the Olympic Games.
Often times it has served as the location through which statements are made, whether they be big or small. Two particularly famous ones occurred in 1968 at the Mexico City Olympics. One, written into folklore, was with African-American sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith, who stood on the podium with fists raised while Australian runner Peter Norman stood in solidarity along with them to protest racial inequality in America. Another famous one is gymnast Vera Caslavska, an anti-Soviet who turned her head away from the music and flag of the Soviet Union while the anthem played. The games have even been boycotted due to political situations, such as Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984.
Exhibit B: soccer clubs across Europe.
People often don’t speak about this, but with the various teams in E urope, which club you represent is linked to your political identity. Scotland’s Celtic and Rangers is a classic example of this. Celtic fans have always infused their political views into the game, as usually only Catholics have played for the club (Rangers the exact opposite), as well as supporting leftist movements such as BDS, while many Rangers fans have supported traditionally right-wing groups such as the English Defense League. Italy also contains one of the only “communist clubs” in Livorno as well, dedicated to the ideology. In Spain, liking one of Real Madrid or Barcelona typically implies you belong to one of the two ideologies. Furthermore, Barcelona is often engaged in the political sphere. Its motto, “Mes que un club,” literally means that. It has played an important role in Catalan nationalism, fomenting pride in the region and assisting in the separatist movements indirectly. Real Madrid, on the other hand, was always linked to far-right dictator Francisco Franco, which in turn led to certain connotations that have held true.
Exhibit C: What we have seen in this country, whether back in the '60s or beyond.
Whether it be NBA athletes donating money, spreading a message through apparel, political messages through athletes have become part and parcel of the games. Back in the '60s, Muhammad Ali famously stated that he was not going to allow himself to be drafted, and was banned from boxing as a result. Another example of this from that decade is the aforementioned black power salute on the podium. The more recent example has been the anthem protests, headlined by figures such as Colin Kaepernick and a few others, but recently expanded in size and scope after the comments from President Trump regarding the protests.
All in all, sports and politics have always been together, to great effect. Sports have even caused and ended wars. To say whether they should or should not be is one thing, but to argue they do not mix is a blatant lie. They have always mixed together, from the beginning of the two concepts themselves.
