Politically Charged Issues Should Be Stripped From the Sports World

For years, sports and politics managed to coexist without crossing into each other’s lane.  In fact, sports was one of the subjects that people from either side of the aisle could engage in with little controversy.  That all changed unfortunately, about a decade ago, when various sports leagues decided to give the appearance of promoting certain political movements.  At that point, the separation between sports and politics began to disintegrate.  Along with this, the vehicle that athletic events provided to escape certain realities has vanished.

Needless to say, political issues are amongst the most divisive that permeate society today.  When sports organizations begin to pontificate on those ideas, it’s virtually impossible to leave the divisiveness at the door.  Therefore, fans of any sport begin to discontinue watching or attending the sports they love, thanks to the unnecessary injection of politically charged ideas, that have no place in the discourse of any athletic discussion.  As a further consequence, relationships built through the benign idea of sports are unnecessarily frayed because leagues have chosen to elevate certain political issues of the day.  Because organizations have chosen to dilute the purity of sports with controversial ideas, it’s uniting qualities have been severely damaged.

Many utilize sports to avoid the firestorm that politics can ignite.  People consider sports an avenue of enjoyment that is void of serious controversy and confrontation.  However, with many of the powers at be  choosing to delve into the social and political issues game, they are depriving many of the opportunity to escape the world of politics which surrounds them.  For this reason, the sports arena is failing to provide their patrons with a product that dwells completely on the chosen activity they are engaging in.

The primary issue that has arisen with the sports and politics intersection is that neutrality is difficult to project.  If you promote this issue but not that one, half your base is unhappy.  Therefore, the culture of togetherness that sports promotes becomes non existent.  There are so many other areas of life where political consumption is readily available on a voluntary basis, that it is unnecessary to taint sports with the poison of political rancor.  It’s difficult to determine why the sports world, as a whole, has chosen to damage its integrity in such an overt manner.

There is no doubt that if these sports leagues want to remain relevant for the foreseeable future, they must rid themselves of participating in any and all politically charged activity.  Engaging in such activity provides yet another avenue to divide this country unnecessarily.  Professional sports provides an opportunity for individuals of all political stripes to engage in mutually enjoyable activities.  To ensure that athletics can continue to act as a baum to heal what divides us, politics must be stripped from the sports conversation.