Shared from the 9/16/2018 LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL eEdition

Everything is political, including sports — and that’s OK

I’m a sucker for Norman Rockwell paintings. If you’re not familiar with Rockwell, just think “Saturday Evening Post” and “1940s Americana.”

Among my favorites are the paintings he did in 1943 on the “four freedoms” FDR spoke about during his 1941 State of the Union address, as the nation stood on the precipice of World War II.

The first of these was “Freedom of Speech.”

If you haven’t seen this one, look it up.

Rockwell depicts freedom through the eyes of an ordinary American, proudly standing to exert his constitutional right to speak during a civic gathering of some kind.

It’s simple and believable and beautiful.

Free speech, just like freedom of religion, is one of the many things that has always made America great. We’re free to have opinions, and we’re free to express those opinions, even when they’re political or controversial.

I’ve never participated in a mass political protest, and I fully respect the fact that “free speech” is not unlimited, nor is it the same thing as “freedom from consequences.”

But I strongly believe the First Amendment generally protects those who choose to protest within the boundaries of law. This is true when pro-life advocates occupy the steps of the United States Supreme Court, just as it it’s true when a group of college students march in opposition to a war.

In fact, few actions are more American than taking a principled stand. Soldiers have died to protect that right. This is why I strongly support NFL players who choose to kneel during the national anthem as a symbolic protest against the very real problem of pervasive racial prejudice within the American legal system. I support players’ right to protest. I also support players’ right to stand, and fans’ right to turn away from the NFL altogether, if they so choose.

But I strongly disagree with the argument that players should simply shut up and play, or that fans’ right to be entertained is more sacred than entertainers’ right to political expression. I also grow frustrated with arguments that players today are somehow more political than those of the past, or that one’s allegiance to a team or a player must pass some sort of political litmus test.

Black athletes have a long history of honoring this nation through political engagement. Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, and Jackie Robinson come to mind, as do John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Muhammad Ali. Colin Kaepernick is not the first athlete to ruffle feathers over a political issue, and I suspect history will judge him kindly, as it has in similar circumstances in the past.

Protests aren’t supposed to make you feel comfortable. Quite the opposite, in fact. Protests are awkward and provocative by design. Comfort breeds complacency; discomfort breeds change. Protest is a call to action, whether you’re a white male rising to be heard in a Rockwell painting or a black athlete kneeling in silence before a football game.

At the end of the day, everything is political – including sports.

During the Cold War, Americans fumed over the Soviet Union’s controversial 1972 gold medal in basketball, just as they rejoiced eight years later with the “Miracle on Ice.”

Picture

These were just games, but they meant more – then and now – because of the political context. It’s fine to wish for opinion-free personalities, but it’s un-American, in my opinion, to demand that athletes, many of whom are African American, simply shut up and play.

Tom Landry and Roger Staubach campaigned for Ronald Reagan in 1980. Magic Johnson hosted a fundraiser for Barack Obama in 2012. Charles Barkley once made waves by declaring that he was “not a role model,” while Michael Jordan has historically been apolitical and disengaged. In recent years, LeBron James and Gregg Popovich have been outspoken critics of President Trump, while Lubbock’s own Bob Knight has actively campaigned for the president. Longtime civil rights advocate Jim Brown recently surprised people by defending Trump’s position on the national anthem, while a litany of other athletes disagree. Each of these individuals is well within their rights to express an opinion.

I believe in the concept of a free marketplace of ideas. Protests have a place within this marketplace, as do counter-protests. Free speech comes in many colors and sizes, and “real Americanism” is never the sole possession of any single faction.

For the record, I believe that the overwhelming majority of police officers in this country do a fantastic job under unrelentingly difficult circumstances and pressure that I can’t even comprehend. I thank them for their service, and I hope to support them as best I can, just as I thank and support those who have served in the military. I’d also like to encourage anyone who reveres the American flag to avoid wearing it as a swimsuit.

Sean P. Cunningham is Associate Professor of History at Texas Tech University.

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