When Did Sports Get So Political?

Well, sports has joined the clown show. Shame for ruining another thing just to make some ‘point’! It’s a game or an event; it’s a distraction, much like other entertainment; it’s not real life. 

Sports has always been my escape. Either playing, watching my own kids play, watching games on TV, or going to events, on and on. Sports and teams are a point of personal pride. People flock to them for one reason or another, whether they went to school there, it’s a family tradition, or it’s pride in one’s country. It’s a way to disconnect from the real world and avoid listening to political theater, constant bad news, and people hating on this or that.

Case in point is the recent Winter Olympics. We don’t even get to day 2, and we have athletes using their perceived platform to piss on one thing or another, specifically their country or their dislike of what the President did. The same country that funded their training, travel expenses, coaches, etc. Or they defect and compete for another country, most of the time never having lived there for more than a few days, again to protest something about our country, while very likely relying on the resources and doing all their training in the country they so very much dislike. Then we take a culmination of events that provided huge amounts of patriotic pride and pissed on it afterward, but refused a genuine offer to go to the White House and rip on those who want to accept that invite. What the hell, shame on you, as one athlete stated, shame for trying to ruin something good because you are a small bit actor in political theatre.

Why can’t we go back to realizing a game is just a game? That sports are just sports.

If you’re a pro athlete, you’re being paid to play. You weren’t elected as a spokesperson. You’re just like actors; you’re paid to entertain, you’re not being paid to lecture. Just as I would get on my kids for getting on referees, where my common statement, very applicable to you, was… Shut up and Play! Ok, before I hear all the ‘it’s my constitutional right; free speech; I need to use my platform’ comments, yes, you do have that right, and why this country is so great. What you don’t have the right to do is impose your feelings on others. There is a right way to protest or speak your opinion, just like I’m doing now, but why do you want to ruin the movie or the game or the event win? Just play. Enjoy and revel in our accolades of your performance.

If you’re a fan, likely a paid agitator, or just an angry person, we don’t care about your opinion, no matter how many times you post it, what derogatory meme you put out, or which hate podcast you do. Just go and let us enjoy ourselves. Allow us to express our patriotism or love for a player or team without retribution.

For the record, I don’t really listen to any of you trying to overstep your arena. The clown shows get turned off just as fast as a sports host with an agenda other than reporting on sports, or a TV show fronting a political agenda, or a movie where actors or a player who think their opinions count for more than us other humans. How about we just let sports be sports for what they are and enjoy!