Dear Boys,
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been focused almost entirely on talking to you about the serious work to be done confronting systemic racism, and working to dismantle it. And yet, I also work in references to and lessons from sports.
That might seem incongruous. Serious issues deserve serious consideration, and sports is anything but serious. These are children’s games being played for the amusement of the masses. Some wonder if the distraction of sports would allow us to pursue the change we have to make.
They have a point that Nancy Armour sums up well. Too often we flip past the dire news of death, destruction, and dehumanization in favor of a quick recap of the days scores and highlights. We shouldn’t be consumed with sports.
But we also need to remember that without solace, entertainment, or amusement we wouldn’t have the capacity to keep working as we do. Taking a break from the protest, even for five minutes to talk about who scored a screamer or how to contain a problem like Bayern Munich, isn’t selfish, it’s a momentary act of self-care, one that can lighten a heavy heart and give us a new way to see things. Some people find that in art, some in music, and you can see it in sports too.
Of course, there are those who bemoan using sports for anything more than the distraction it provides. There are people who want to safe-harbor of sports to shield them from the stormy world beyond. You’ll recognize them groaning every time an athlete says more than “you know, you gotta play as a team” or “we just gave it our all.” If they have the temerity to speak up, or speak out, there’s major frustration all encapsulated by the phrase “stick to sports”.
But sports have always been political because life is always political.
Sports were political in 1936 when Adolf Hitler tried to assert the dominance of the white race only for Jesse Owens to crush the Aryan champions and the world records.
Sports were political in 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and Pee Wee Reese stood beside him in front of every hostile stadium. (As well as in 1901 when Charlie Grant tried to play, only to be abandoned by manager John McGraw when things got tough.)
Sports were political in 1968 when when Tommie Smith and John Carlos held up black power fists to show their pride after winning medals, and in 1972 when terrorists attacked Israeli athletes at the games in Munich. It was political when countries boycotted competitions out of political animosity, and when players who came out as gay were blackballed from competition. When Charles Barkley said, “I am not a role model”, and Michael Jordan said, “Republicans buy sneakers too,” and we all rallied around the New York Yankees after 9/11, and when players on Iran’s national team were briefly banned for supporting democracy, and when North Korea’s team reported torture after losing in the world cup.
Sports are political because life is political. Asking athletes to not share opinions and simply amuse you is like asking people to shut off one part of their humanity. Asking anyone, especially people of color, to stop being human is absolutely the problem.
So, don’t stick to sports. If you stick to sports, you succumb to the distractions and abandon the work we have to do. If you stick to sports, or demand that athletes do the same, you are complicit in dehumanizing others.
Stick to society. Share sports in a society, where we unite and cheer and are inspired to get back to work. Use sports as a tool to understand society, dig deeper, and explore our common humanity. In particular, remember that those who play, and amaze, and engage our sports-loving minds, aren’t just there to amuse us. They don’t serve us. They’re part of our society. Listen to the opinions they share, and go from there.
MacKenzie's Boot Room 