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26
Jun
2022

Why Sports and Politics?

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BY: GRACE MAGLIETTA | JUNE 29, 2022

You may be thinking: Politics polarize. Sports unite. What could the two possibly have to do with each other? As it turns out, plenty. Sports and politics have been always been tangled up with each other:

  • Voter TurnoutDid you know that Thomas Jefferson sponsored shooting contests to appeal to his voter base? Or that George Washington gifted alcohol to election parties where many games were played? Political candidates have used sports contests to relate to voters and encourage voter turnout as early as the 1750s, whether by sponsoring a shooting contest or attending a basketball game. If some Americans favor a candidate they’d want to get a beer with, others look for one they’d want to watch the game with. 
  • DiplomacyWhen China invited the American tennis team to visit in 1972, President Nixon took this as a reason to visit China himself. Not only did Nixon’s visit help improve the United States’ relationship with China, he also set a precedent for presidents contacting coaches and players after a major championship victory.
  • Picking SidesWe’re no stranger to sports lingo at WYJS – but we’re not the only ones. Sports analogies and metaphors have long been common in political cartoons and conversation. For example: the comparison of political elections to a race, which rose to popularity in the 1810s-1820s. And in both sports and political elections, there’s the pressure to pick a side to support. Who’s winning the race? Who are you rooting for? Whose team are you on?

Even with all the ways sports and politics are intertwined, borrowing from each other and using each other, the relationship between them is often one-sided. In other words, in American culture it’s fine when politicians touch sports, when they use it for political gain. For athletes, however, it’s a different story. Athletes can’t touch politics, and when they do, they’re considered out of their expertise.  

In a critique of NBA players Lebron James and Kevin Durant’s critique of then President Trump on the UNINTERRUPTED podcast, FOX News pundit Laura Ingraham summed up the imbalance, arguing athletes should “Shut up and dribble.” It’s not really common to hear the other side: “Shut up and pundit,” for instance, if a politician talks about sports. 

The imbalance becomes even more clear when considering presidential visits: it’s not considered a political act for the president to invite a sports team to the White House, so why is it when an athlete declines the invitation? And why is Colin Kaepernick’s decision to take a knee during the national anthem “too political” when the NFL’s militaristic patriotism is not? 

Whoever you’re rooting for, it’s time to level the playing field and acknowledge that sports and politics don’t have to be on opposing teams. It’s important to remember this history. Politicians and athletes alike have never kept their politics “off the field.” The idea of “shutting up” or “staying in one’s lane” is myth of American culture that forecloses argument and limits who gets to speak up, speak out, and speak for. 

Works Consulted

Billings, Andrew C, et al. Communication and Sport : Surveying the Field. Los Angeles, Sage, 2018.

Cohen, Kenneth. “Americans Have Mixed Sports and Politics for Longer than You Think.” Slate Magazine, Slate, 2 Jan. 2018, slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/americans-have-mixed-sports-and-politics-for-longer-than-you-think.html.

Schottey, Michael. “The Flag and the Shield: The Long Alliance between the NFL and US Military.” Bleacher Report, 14 May 2016, bleacherreport.com/articles/2029052-the-flag-and-the-shield-the-long-alliance-between-the-nfl-and-the-us-military. Accessed 24 Apr. 2022.

“Shut Up and Dribble- Full Video.” 22 February 2018, youtube.com/watch?v=AlHuaOIvRLY

Tedla, S. “Sports and Politics.” 8 May 2022, https://blog.mcdaniel.edu/politicandsport/

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