Should athletes speak out politically?
Critical Analysis
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, your big brain, the information provided and any links below:
What percent of Americans say it is somewhat or very acceptable for professional athletes to express their views on social and political issues?
Describe how political partisanship impacts public opinion in the poll above.
What is the big story this chart tells?
Why do you think over half of Americans support athletes speaking out about social/political issues?
Based on the data from the visual below* what explains the difference in opinion on athletes supporting political and social issues (as shown above) and voting rights (as shown below*)
Isabel Hennequin, 42, an office manager from the Bronx who leans Democratic, said former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protests over police brutality and systemic racism resonated with her. She supports athletes using their platforms to effect change. “Not only are they athletes who play for a team or do a sport, but they are also considered to be role models, and they do have a lot of influence,” Hennequin said. Frank West, a 61-year-old retired police, fire and EMS worker from Stanwood, Mich., who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, disapproves of the national anthem protests led by Kaepernick and prefers that athletes stay out of politics. But West is more amenable to athletes encouraging voting, as long as those efforts are nonpartisan. “Supporting the democratic process is great. I have no problem with that at all,” West said. Explain whether you think it is acceptable for professional athletes to speak out publicly about political and social issues.
Explain whether you think it is acceptable for professional politicians to speak out publicly about sports issues.
When athletes speak out about political issues their views tend to be more liberal than conservative. Why do you think that is?
The poll above was conducted shortly after the U.S. women’s soccer team, which has long been outspoken on issues of equal pay and LGBTQ+ rights, was eliminated from the World Cup in the round of 16, a defeat the former president and front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination attributed to “wokeness.” “The ‘shocking and totally unexpected’ loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our [sic] once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “Many of our players were openly hostile to America - No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close. WOKE EQUALS FAILURE.” Do you think Trump would have criticized the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team had they won?
How much do athletes impact public opinion on political issues and how much do athletes impact your opinion on political issues?
Did you know that James Madison was a great cricket champion? I didn’t either. He wasn’t.
Visual Extension*
Learning Extension
Listen to this NPR story about Jackie Robinson and how politics can threaten the careers of Black athletes.
Action Extension
Tweet LeBron James @KingJames and let him know what you think about athletes sharing their views on politics.
