Pro Athletes Take A Stand On Political Issues

Today’s professional athletes are more spectators than participants when it comes to political and world issues, a trend that runs counter to the one established by previous generations of sports stars.

Their reluctance to get involved comes at a time when athletes are popular options to reach the masses, from urging youth to stay in school to promoting video games.

“It’s not that athletes aren’t as concerned nowadays with politics,” said Titans linebacker Ryan Fowler, 26, in his fifth season in the National Football League. “Trust me, they are. In fact, that’s a topic of conversation at our (team) meals … more than sports.

“It’s just that you have to be careful how you say things, and where you say them.”

Though much of the nation’s focus is on the Nov. 4 presidential election, athletes, historians and sports analysts agree that voicing support for either Democratic nominee Barack Obama or his Republican counterpart, John McCain — or stating an opinion on an emotionally charged issue in politically correct times — comes with a financial risk.

Unable to control their message once it reaches the media, sports stars are often fearful of polarizing fans who buy tickets and might buy products they endorse.

From megastars who make more money off the field, like Tiger Woods and LeBron James, to lesser-known athletes such as Fowler, getting political is not worth the gamble.

“If you’re a successful athlete, the opportunities, not just from things you can sell but places you can appear on television, are astronomical,” said Julian Zelizer, professor of American politics and public affairs at Princeton University. “Why would you take the risk of angering half your audience and losing those opportunities?”

So many remain silent as issues swirl around them, waiting until retirement to take stands. Others donate to charities or political campaigns yet keep their opinions clear of public consumption.

The silence troubles former Olympic gold medalistTommie Smith, who joined teammate John Carlos in raising black-gloved fists on the medal stand at the 1968 Mexico City Games in protest of inequities for blacks in America.

“If you’re not being heard,” Smith said, “what you think really doesn’t make any difference.”

Muhammad Ali opposed the Vietnam War. Basketball star Bill Walton was arrested in college for sitting in on a Vietnam War protest. Billie Jean King fought against sexism in sports and society. Charles Barkley told society that dunking a basketball didn’t make him a role model.

They all contributed to America’s social consciousness, yet their sharp words and actions came with a caveat. They were ostracized by some in the public and the media, stripped of endorsements — even more important then because salaries were far less than they are today — and called communists or traitors. In the worst cases, death threats followed.

Smith and Carlos were expelled from the ‘68 Olympics.

“I did it because there was a need for me to do it,” Smith said. “I was not getting paid to be silent. The constitutional assets were greater than the financial dollar.”

Only the years, which softened opinions as memories faded, allowed many to regain their sports hero status.

Even Ali, one of the most recognizable people in the world, was vilified for refusing to enter the military. States revoked his boxing license, locking him out of the sport during his prime.

“As much as Ali upset people, he would have upset them 10 times more in society today because everybody seems to walk around with a chip on their shoulder,” said Bert Sugar, boxing writer and historian. “Athletes have seen that, they’ve seen what kind of trouble you get in by being outspoken, and they don’t want to cause a wave, one way or another.”

One reason today’s athletes separate themselves from politics and world issues is that the times are viewed as far less turbulent, said ESPN’s Desmond Howard, a Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl MVP.

The 1960s and ’70s were highly controversial decades, with issues including segregation, voting rights, Vietnam, the Cuban missile crisis and the Cold War.

“There are still struggles, but not the obvious, blatant struggles that they dealt with,” said Howard, who participated in the Million Man March in 1995 while a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who converted to Islam during his NBA career, said society no longer requires athletes to be spokespersons for change.

Politicians “are the ones that really shoulder that burden,” he said.

Increased obligations for today’s athletes affect their ability to participate in society’s issues, Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said. Pro sports are year-round work.

Not all athletes are in a position to shape public opinion.

“Even in Muhammad Ali’s era, you didn’t hear about 10 (other) boxers doing what he did,” said Desmond Mason, an eighth-year pro now with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. “And you have some people that just keep their mouth shut.”

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is one of the few notable athletes these days to announce an allegiance in the presidential race.

He uses his blog (38pitches.com) to discuss everything from Boston’s chances of winning the World Series and what’s happening in other sports, to the nation’s financial crisis and his support for McCain.

“His integrity and honesty is sorely needed to help lead this country in my opinion, and I am proud as hell to call him a friend and I hope I can call him the President of the United States very soon,” he blogged on Jan. 9.

“Curt is in a rare position of being an extremely popular athlete who doesn’t really care about being popular,” said Bob Halloran, a sports anchor for WCVB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Boston, and co-host of a local radio show. “He doesn’t mind rubbing people the wrong way and expressing his opinions.”

Last year, NBA all-star Baron Davis reportedly hosted a private fundraiser for Obama.

One-time Los Angeles Lakers player Ira Newble, the son of a civil rights activist, has traveled to Africa to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. On the same night Jeff Suppan started for the St. Louis Cardinals in the ‘96 World Series, he appeared in a commercial urging Missouri voters to oppose stem-cell research.

While few professional athletes challenge the astronomical prices of athletic shoes by major companies like Nike, Reebok and adidas, some have worked with organizations such as Nashville-based Soles4Souls Inc., which provides free footwear, new and used, to those in need around the world.

Some athletes support candidates with their checkbooks.

In September, ESPN published an analysis from the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group. It stated that professional athletes and executives have given a total of $445,334 to the presidential campaigns of McCain (55.8 percent) and Obama (44.2 percent) through July 31.

During Titans training camp in August, The Tennessean conducted its annual survey of players with questions ranging from “Favorite cartoon character?” to “McCain or Obama?”

Of the 22 players surveyed, 13 said they would vote for Obama, two backed McCain, three were undecided, three responded with write-in candidates and one had no comment.

Fowler’s response: “Obama. The one thing that I don’t like about McCain is that he seems more likely to stay in Iraq and to finish what Bush started. However, Obama says he wants to get out of Iraq. But that doesn’t mean he wants to get out of Afghanistan.”

Fowler was surprised by the reaction.

“I had a couple of people come up and say, ‘You’re voting for Obama?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know; it was my preliminary answer. I haven’t decided yet.’ There was a long discussion about it,” he said.

“People are sensitive about it. Nobody asked me, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe Family Guy is your favorite cartoon,’ because (politics) has a bearing on peoples’ lives.”

- Gary Estwick, The Tennessean.