Dueling Column: Athletes speaking about politics is important

Brea Jones/ Staff Writer 

Recently, we’ve been seeing more athletes speak up and share opinions on political subjects.

And it’s about time.

Everyday it’s becoming more important for celebrities to use their platforms to speak up.

Athletes are people and citizens as well. They have opinions that deserve to be heard and it’s wrong to try to reduce them to only a player.

Athletes are given a huge platform to influence others and show them right from wrong.

Children who look up to those athletes should also become aware of social and political issues.

The problem is not that celebrity athletes are becoming more outspoken and “political,” it’s that people are not understanding the message that ‘s trying to be conveyed.

When football players take a knee during the anthem it’s not because they want to protest the anthem as some believe, it’s to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

The people who oppose the protest try to derail the message and make it seem like it’s pointless when it isn’t.

People have a problem with some athletes speaking out because it conflicts with their personal beliefs or because it sheds light on topics that people don’t want to talk about.

When Lebron James spoke about Trump on the web series, “Rolling with the champion,” Fox News host Laura Ingraham responded by saying, “must they run their mouths like that? Keep the political commentary to yourself. Or as someone once said, shut up and dribble.” She said this because she disagreed with what he was saying.

Fans who watch sporting events claim that they watch them to get away from all the politics but those two minutes are not going to kill you.

While athletes do have other times to express their views other than during or before a game, it’s important for them to do it when it matters most.

It’ll have a bigger impact on a larger audience.

There is no valid reason as to why athletes should have to stay silent on their political views or be punished with fines when they do.

Forcing people to stop protesting or expressing their views when it’s an important and valid issue is terrible and disrespectful to the protest and those affected by it.

Read the other side: Don’t politicize football

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

Photo by Ben Hershey on Unsplash.