Should Athletes be Obligated to be Activists? This was one of the great topics examined by an exceptional panel of speakers last night at the UBC Liu Institute for Global Issues. The experts tackled all the complex issues of the evening with grace, humility and intelligence, but there are no easy answers. Experience teaches us that there seems to be some very complicated rules about who is allowed to have a voice, how they can use it and which topics are appropriate for athletes.
Rick Hansen, Clara Hughes, Sheldon Kennedy, and women’s soccer teams seem to be unanimous heroes in their advocacy efforts, but others pay a steep price (Colin Kaepernick). How is an athlete to know how much is enough or how much is too much? Not taking a political stand can now be almost as damaging to an athlete (Sidney Crosby and the Penguins at the White House). How far is too far? What if the best in our country protest by boycotting the Olympics and don’t represent their country in the name of very worthy causes (equality in Sochi, athlete safety in Rio)?
There are no easy answers because of the large sacrifices (loss of sponsorship, jobs, backlash), so we are asking athletes to not only pursue excellence in the field of play, but also carefully navigate the political arena as well. It’s great that LeBron James can wear a “I can’t breathe” shirt, openly criticize his President and still keep his job, but it also feels like we haven’t come far as a society. From the Black Power salute protest at the 1968 Olympics to Kaepernick taking a knee in 2016, it seems that society refuses certain people the freedom to (peacefully) protest certain topics (racism in America)? So what can we actually do?
The panel offered some great guidance (even for us non-celebrities):
· Keep learning and unlearning (listen and challenge)
· Find your own sincere and genuine voice
· Use your privilege to amplify the messages from minority communities (don’t speak on their behalf) – watch Greg Popovich and Steve Kerr
· Retweet, share, like messages that you support
· Sign petitions – they really can impact policy (www.change.org)
You can check out the full discussion to hear directly from the expert panel on a variety of related topics (start at 1:00 mark): https://mediasitemob1.mediagroup.ubc.ca/Mediasite/Play/df12de6673cf4f21bdf20e6d65e61f181d
For more great discussion, check out Shireen Ahmed’s podcast (Burn It All Down) and her articles on headwear in FIBA:
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