Mixing Sports and Politics is Often a Losing Game

Picture this scenario if you will: You’re in the third grade, it’s the first day of school, and you’re sitting next to a new kid. You notice that on his shirt is your favorite superhero and you start talking. In addition to that superhero, he likes all the same stuff you do, and it seems as though you might have found a new best friend.

But then at lunch when you take out your peanut butter and banana sandwich – your most favorite food in the world – he grimaces. Says he hates peanut butter and bananas too, especially when they’re together. You’re crushed, and suddenly you realize this guy’s not going to be your bestie.

So, what does this have to do with anything? Bear with me.

The New York Giants have a promising young quarterback named Jaxson Dart. After a solid rookie season, there’s finally hope again in Big Blue Land that the team may have its first franchise QB since Eli Manning.

But then, earlier this year, Dart did something that could be seen as tantamount to deriding an eight-year-old’s favorite food: He attended a Trump rally. Not only did he attend the rally, but he introduced Trump. Shook his hand, even got kind of a pseudo hug from him.

If you didn’t know what Dart’s political affiliation was before, you certainly did now. And this begs the question: Do we really want to know?

We of course all want the people we like to like the same things we do. This may be especially true for players on our favorite teams – and even more so for the guy whose name you might be wearing on the back of your jersey. For example, if you’re a Knicks fan and love cats, you probably love OG Anunoby.

But what happens when players don’t share our opinions? What if, in fact, they are diametrically opposed to them? If you’re a Giants fan and not a Trump supporter, how do you feel about rooting for Dart now?

While sports used to be kind of a safe haven from politics, that’s just no longer the case. Over the last decade especially, the two have sometimes been almost inseparable. Look at the recent World Cup. While the U.S. gladly received players and fans from some countries, xenophobic policies showed that not everyone was welcome. The good run by the U.S. Men’s National Team was marred (and possibly even ended) by Trump’s interference in the Balogun red card situation.

Trump just can’t seem to help but interject himself into sports. In November, he became the first sitting U.S. president to attend a regular-season NFL game when he watched the Commanders take on the Lions. (He’d previously said that the Commanders’ new stadium should be named after him.) He showed up in New York for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The White House hosted a UFC event, and a couple of months later, there was an IndyCar race on the streets of D.C.

Trump suggested that LeBron James was a racist for not liking him and defended Tiger Woods after his most recent car crash. He might even have played a role in the recent Open Championship, as Bryson DeChambeau (almost certainly spurred on by his World Cup meddling) threatened to call Trump to get a penalty overturned.

No league seems to be immune from politics, as the WNBA has proven. Caitlin Clark has been called a “political football” (though “political basketball” would seem to make a lot more sense), due to some thinking that there’s a racial element behind the hard fouls against her. Several Republicans even sent a letter to the league saying she needs more protection.

Then there’s Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham, who continues to cause controversy with her stance on transgender women playing women’s sports. This has led to protests and counterprotests, and even resulted in the owner of the Seattle Storm being suspended for confronting fans showing support for Cunningham, along with nonsense like this. Perhaps unsurprisingly, though she claims to be middle-of-the-road politically, Republicans have embraced her, with Vice President JD Vance going so far as to say that she’s helping to save America.

Clark, for her part, hasn’t waded into the controversy and just wants to play ball. And while this may have been fine in the past, should we expect more from pro athletes these days? Do they need to take a stance or should they just “shut up and play”?

In 1990, when asked about endorsing Harvey Gantt – a Black Democrat – running against noted racist Jesse Helms for a Senate seat in North Carolina, Michael Jordan infamously demurred, saying “Republicans buy sneakers too.” While he received criticism at the time, this stance certainly didn’t hurt Jordan or his brand long-term. But, would it have today?

Most of us – myself included – don’t want sports and politics to mix. When we turn on a game, we don’t want to be awash in flags or the military or over-the-top patriotism. We just want to watch a game and cheer on our guys.

And if players want to voice their opinions? That’s fine. It’s also fine if they want to follow the immortal words of Floyd Pepper of The Electric Mayhem (in Muppet Treasure Island, in case you were wondering): “Just play the gig. Never get involved in politics.”