I hope this comes across as me "Yes, and-ing" this post and these comments ... one of the complications these days, I think, is it's harder than ever to tell when a celebrity and/or athlete is actually thinking out loud versus 1. trolling, or 2. appeasing agents/sponsors/corporate interests. All of that suggests opposing the "stick to sp…
I hope this comes across as me "Yes, and-ing" this post and these comments ... one of the complications these days, I think, is it's harder than ever to tell when a celebrity and/or athlete is actually thinking out loud versus 1. trolling, or 2. appeasing agents/sponsors/corporate interests. All of that suggests opposing the "stick to sports" mentality, since we aren't mind-readers.
Somebody who I think was pretty good about thoughtfully not sticking to sports, at least among teams I follow, was Sean Doolittle when he was on the Washington Nationals. Very liberal, and outspoken about his beliefs/causes, but also appears to have great ties with his teammates and the fanbase regardless of their political views. Seems to separate sports fandom from political fandom, in other words. For example, he skipped the White House invite after the 2019 World Series win but made clear it was a personal choice, not a judgment on teammates who went. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/11/01/sean-doolittle-declining-white-house-invite-i-dont-want-hang-out-with-somebody-who-talks-like-that/
100%, and I think there is clearly a crowd of people who will stay STICK TO SPORTS because their mad he doesn't like their boy Trump, but most people would see that decision and say "cool, that's his right, and I have no issue with him saying so". And I think it's important to remember the rational ones are the majority, even if they aren't amplified and in your face. Good for Sean.
I hope this comes across as me "Yes, and-ing" this post and these comments ... one of the complications these days, I think, is it's harder than ever to tell when a celebrity and/or athlete is actually thinking out loud versus 1. trolling, or 2. appeasing agents/sponsors/corporate interests. All of that suggests opposing the "stick to sports" mentality, since we aren't mind-readers.
Somebody who I think was pretty good about thoughtfully not sticking to sports, at least among teams I follow, was Sean Doolittle when he was on the Washington Nationals. Very liberal, and outspoken about his beliefs/causes, but also appears to have great ties with his teammates and the fanbase regardless of their political views. Seems to separate sports fandom from political fandom, in other words. For example, he skipped the White House invite after the 2019 World Series win but made clear it was a personal choice, not a judgment on teammates who went. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/11/01/sean-doolittle-declining-white-house-invite-i-dont-want-hang-out-with-somebody-who-talks-like-that/
100%, and I think there is clearly a crowd of people who will stay STICK TO SPORTS because their mad he doesn't like their boy Trump, but most people would see that decision and say "cool, that's his right, and I have no issue with him saying so". And I think it's important to remember the rational ones are the majority, even if they aren't amplified and in your face. Good for Sean.