For any healthy democracy to function, there needs to be a contrasting diversity of thoughts and ideas; in its essence, this is what a tolerant and free society is all about. But if you ask anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock, there seems to be an uneasy amount of political discourse nowadays. More often than not, I find myself seeing that there seems to be a deleterious amount of politicization of the seemingly benign aspects of our society. From Hollywood to NASCAR, almost all organizations and corporate elitists seem to have a political point of view that they advocate for. This politicization of culture is not only detrimental in the way that it is divisive, it also doesn’t seem to help the cause of the corporate elitists who seem to think they are doing a service.
Not long ago, major corporations and other influential figures would shy away from publicly endorsing any political cause as it would alienate whoever had a differing perspective. Although not explicitly stated, this isn’t the case anymore. There seems to be an attitude that embraces “standing up” for your principles and “beliefs” now. On paper this seems like a great idea; it restates the importance of the plethora of various ideas in any society and is central to any democracy to flourish. But is this politicization simply a way to help shed light on the issues that we as a society face, or a concept with good intentions, but adverse effects?
Case Study – NBA: How Politicising Sports is Polarising Audiences?
George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake. Those are the names of the various victims of police related shootings over the course of 2020. But of course, I don’t need to tell you that. It isn’t like they are also the names social justice organizations around the world have been saying repeatedly since early May. The deaths of these innocent unarmed black individuals has sparked a global debate on racism, police brutality, and systemic bias. So it isn’t surprising for us to see various eminent figures stand up and take a side. But while politicians, activists, and commentators make vocal statements regarding the exigency for social reform, a surprisingly influential number of organizations which are prominent in the lives of young adults took a front row seat in demanding for change – sports leagues.
After the sudden and tragic death of Jacob Blake on the glum morning of the 23rd of August, 2020, the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA decided to boycott their playoff series against the Orlando Magic. Athletes in the NBA made it clear: There will be no alternative. There will be no sports without “justice”. To most of the readers, the question that now arises is, “a bunch of teams refused to play a silly basketball game, what’s the big deal?” The question is perfectly logical; people expect athletes to do what athletes are supposed to do (which is play their respective games). Or as Fox News journalist Laura Ingraham would put it, “shut up and dribble.”
But the NBA and other major sports leagues in the United States (like the NFL, MLB and NHL) are adamant in their stance that by taking their strong, vocal, and blunt position regarding their demands for social justice. Athletes across the United States sincerely believe in their cause. The idea that one can employ one’s large following into inspiring social change is appealing one. It makes sense after all, right? Why wouldn’t you want to do something bigger than, say, just basketball. But now the question moves from, “how does the direct approach taken by athletes matter?” to “well does it help at all?” A question to which most would say, “of course it helps!” And here is where the mostly well meaning demigod athletes go wrong.
There is no doubt that the deaths of the various victims of police related shootings is devastating. The shootings raise questions regarding how safe we are in our so called “modern” society. Anyone saying otherwise lacks basic empathy or clearly has a callous disregard for human life. Prominent civil rights activists like the great Martin Luther King Jr. in the early and late 60s in the United States claimed that not enough people were active participants for voicing change. That is no more the case in 2020. From LeBron to Brady, each and every one of these prominent athletes are arguing and supporting for a complete overhaul of the current system. But contrary to the belief of the masses, this is not good.
As everyone’s favorite character Spiderman would famously say, “with great power great responsibility.” While the NBA (the most prominent of the 4 major sports leagues in the U.S. currently) keeps reiterating that their bold views on social reform cannot be politically divisive unless someone is strictly racist, the truth could not be further. The statements, organizations, and political figures that are being promoted by the NBA, for example, are implicitly supporting political organizations that can sway public opinion. Commentators on the political right have stated that organizations such as Black Lives Matter are linked with the Democratic Party and are unfairly swaying sentiment in a crucial election year which will ultimately decide the next President of the United States.
The NBA claims this is false and disrespectful to their efforts. But is it? Players have called the sitting President “incompetent” and “stupid” and publicly endorsed others and asked fans to do the same.
There is no question concerning how influential these athletes are. A simple google search to their Instagram profile would display the millions of young people who not only look up to athletes, but more importantly, respect them.
The problem, simply put, is not that using one’s vast following to inform people of a problem is inherently wrong. The problem arises when there is a complete disregard for an opposing point of view to be raised. In our society nowadays, we often conflate our own moral beliefs with those of others. It doesn’t matter how different or seemingly “outrageous” they can be, for any society to thrive, varying opinions must exist. History has taught us that. Instead of LeBron James calling the President a coward and divisive, we as a society (including the famous athletes) ought to be asking citizens to be informed. Simply painting “Black Lives Matter” on the side of an NBA court won’t help solve the inherent problem. Sure, it will raise awareness, but if awareness was all a society needed to progress, racism would have happened hundreds of years ago during the times of Lincoln. Society needs people to stand up and find their own views, not look to figures of authority as guidance. We need young adults to ask themselves, “what do I think should be done to solve this?” rather than taking what our athletes, and more over other influential figures say should be done.
This commentary does not only apply to the NBA and sports leagues, but rather to almost every facet of our modern society. The inherent idea is not to discredit one’s freedom of speech. Every organization, individual, and influencer has the right to speak up and stand for what they believe in, but more often than not, instead of helping the issue, there seems to be more of a divide. If cultural icons from Hollywood and the sensational athletes of our generation chose to concentrate efforts into urging audiences to make their own judgements by actively learning about the issues that plague us, we would not only be less divided than we already are, but would also be closer to reaching solutions (which will always be better than “raising awareness”).
The Candid Contrarian 