What We Expect Athletes to Say Now
Just a few years ago, what athletes had to say on social issues had an impact beyond sport. Under pressure – not only from the events of the time but, it seemed, from the dominant culture – athletes increasingly spoke about using their “platform” to fight injustice. Until this month, the last time a game was postponed for reasons so directly tied to politics was in 2020, in the NBA’s bubble during the coronavirus pandemic, when members of the Milwaukee Bucks led a wildcat strike to protest police brutality. This interruption had seemed bold and clarifying – an extraordinary disruption of ordinary rituals, which certainly seemed to have some effect. But that didn’t turn out to be the case. If anything has changed, it is the perceived risk of making or not making political statements.
These days, many athletes are slower to talk about politics and leagues are more circumspect. It turns out that social media does not represent the views of the general public and has become increasingly toxic. Platforms are primarily for performance. Even many progressives now seem to think that professional athletes—who tend to be young, single-mindedly dedicated to their sport, and generally loathe public distractions—have no special authority or obligation to weigh in on world events. Anthony Edwards is a charismatic and hyper-talented basketball player who once posted an openly homophobic video on Instagram. He was accused of pressuring a woman he had made pregnant to have an abortion. (In a later statement, Edwards said, “I made comments in the heat of the moment that are not me and what I believe and who I want to be as a man.”) He is not the person to turn to for civic leadership or discussion on federal policies.
In some sense, athletes are freer to say what they really think, although, given the current government and corporate climate, there may be real costs to speaking what they think. There are basketball players who denounced the murders committed in Minneapolis. Victor Wembanyama responded passionately saying how horrified he was by the news. Tyrese Haliburton clearly called Pretti’s death a murder. Larry Nance, Jr., wore an anti-ICE T-shirt, and the Players Association issued a statement in support of civil liberties. Breanna Stewart wore an “Abolish ICE” during the player introductions before an Unrivaled game (and many other female basketball players, as usual, waded more directly into political issues than their male counterparts). But those were exceptions. The NBA remained silent, as did many of its stars. Late last week, LeBron James, who once led athletes in speaking out against injustice, spoke out for the first time, sort of: he posted a new Bruce Springsteen’s song, titled “Streets of Minneapolis”, on Instagram Despite his huge following, and no matter how he feels, if he denounces the actions of ICE or not, it probably doesn’t make much difference on the streets of Minneapolis. James knows, as we all do, that Donald Trump returned to the White House even after James called him a clown.
Of course, that doesn’t mean the players and staff weren’t affected by what was happening in their city. On Sunday, Minnesota head coach Chris Finch spoke about the team’s heartbreak and said he was glad they didn’t play the night Pretti died. The NBA did not present the postponement of the game as an act of protest; the league said it was done “to prioritize the safety and security of the Minnesota community.” Regardless, Finch said, “playing basketball just didn’t seem like the right thing to do.” Sports seemed irrelevant.
In times of trouble, East the interest of sport? I know many people who would say that there isn’t: that professional sports are a bloated form of entertainment, a waste of time. An excuse to eat nachos and play. Are they simply an escape? Maybe. People want to distract themselves from bad news. They want rituals. They want an opportunity to drink beer and chat with strangers and friends. They want the reassuring rhythms of a long baseball season. They want examples of excellence. Some of them even want to watch the New York Jets. Of course, they don’t necessarily think of these things in terms of desire. They don’t need sports to be right. They care because they cared when they were young.
