ADSactly Sports: When Politics and Sports collide.

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Recently there was a major statement made in professional sports. The NFL made it mandatory for all personnel (coaches, players referees or any other on-field staff) to stand during the playing of the National Anthem. This action came on the heels of a season where there was a great deal of controversy over players and teams kneeling during the playing of the song. The action was taken originally by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in protest against police brutality.

I use the term former because Kaepernick was not long after released by his team, the San Francisco 49’ers, and has yet to be able to find employment on any other NFL team even though he is a better player than many of the current back up QB’s in the league. What does this say? The league and its owners are making a clear statement by not having him back on a team. This is an issue that is now in court as Kaepernick is suing the league for collusion stating that they have worked together to ensure he doesn’t get a chance to return to any team.

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The debate became even more heated after President Donald Trump spoke out against the player's actions and calling on players who kneel during the anthem to be fired. This only fueled the fire and turned the issue into an anti-Trump movement. It became so big that entire teams were kneeling in solidarity against the words of the President. For the entire season, politics was at the forefront of the NFL. In many ways, it almost took center stage over the games as people who weren’t even football fans would tune in to see how big the protest would be before the games and then eagerly await the response from President Trump. Now, any player who kneels during the anthem will be fined for disrespect.

NFL owners have issued new guidelines that will see teams fined if their players or staff do not show appropriate “respect” for the national anthem. According to the new rules, “a club will be fined by the league if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the anthem”.
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Donald Trump responded to the announcement with great approval but took his tweet to another level with comments that have led to more anger and frustration from the players. The comment about how these players should maybe not be in the country has added gas to an already fast burning fire.

During his Thursday interview on "Fox & Friends," Trump applauded the changes made by the league and took another jab at those who choose to protest.
"You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn't be playing, you shouldn't be there, maybe you shouldn't be in the country," Trump said. "The NFL owners did the right thing."
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There is a loophole for players who want to protest, however. They can choose to remain in the locker room during the anthem if they don’t want to be forced to stand for the song. What started out as a movement to bring police brutality into the light has turned into a war of words and actions between a league of players and the President of the United States. Does anyone even know what they are fighting for anymore? It will be interesting to see how things shake out going into the new season. Will players find a way to show solidarity and stand up in the face of this action? All eyes will be on that first game of the season to see what will happen.

This issue really got me thinking about how politics has crept into sports over the years. How often have professional or even amateur athletes used their very public stage to make a political statement? Have any of these instances lead to a positive outcome or were they messy and dirty the way that this national anthem issue has been? How has politics tried to push its agenda on the sporting world? I know that this is certainly not the first time that there have been statements made by athletes against president Donald Trump. Each year the championship team from the major sports usually pays a visit to the White House and receives a tribute from the president. Last year several New England Patriot elected not to attend the ceremony because they disagree with Trump’s policies and this year many Philadelphia Eagles players are planning to do the same.

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A visit to the White House has been a tradition for teams fresh off a Super Bowl victory. But several Philadelphia Eagles players, basking in the glow of their history-making Super Bowl win, say they plan to skip the event.
Many players in the NFL have been critical of President Trump's comments on race relations and athletes taking a knee during the national anthem.
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The national anthem was not always played at sporting events. The tradition didn't start until after world war I and truly stuck and became a consistent every event phenomena after World War II. It was a way to show solidarity as a nation and to stand and recognize those who were making the greatest sacrifice while away at war. Since then, the players and fans have stood for the national anthem at every major league, college, high school and even minor sporting events. It is an expectation now and most people wouldn’t even know that there was a time when the national anthem wasn’t observed.
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This is not the first time that the national anthem has become controversial during sports events. In fact, there have been several occasions in sports where the anthem has been protested. Many people opposed the war in Vietnam and at the time they chose to show their disapproval of the United States decision to participate by protesting the anthem at sporting events. Many people would sit during the song to show this frustration. In 1996, a Denver Nuggets basketball player who had converted to Islam spoke out about his non-belief in standing and respecting a national anthem he didn’t believe in. He was not allowed to sit for the anthem however and so he would hold his hands in his face as a sign of protest while the anthem played.

The national anthem issue has also reared its ugly head at the Olympics:

In 1968, U.S. Olympic athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave a raised-fist "black power" salute on the medal stand as the Star-Spangled Banner was being played. They were thrown out of the Olympics. Four years later, U.S. Olympians Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett, who were also African-American, were barred from further competition when they were considered to have shown insufficient respect from the medal stand.
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As you can see, protesting for your beliefs through sports doesn’t always work out for the athlete. One of the greatest examples of this was the late and great Muhammad Ali. Ali was very outspoken during his fighting career about his political beliefs and frustrations. His actions started with his conversion to Islam and changing his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. He did this in protest of the treatment of blacks in America and called his birth name his “slave” name. Later in life, Ali stood against the war in Vietnam and refused to be drafted. He publicly stated that “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” He was later arrested and convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to prison time and temporarily banned from his sport.
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In 2010 the entire Phoenix Suns organization decided to take a stand against anti-immigration laws passed in their home state of Arizona. There had been a law recently passed that encouraged racial profiling of Hispanics and there was significant criticism about the move. The team decided to wear special uniforms during their game on “Cinco de Mayo” as a protest of the law and support for the large Latino community in Arizona.

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The Phoenix Suns will wear "Los Suns" on their jerseys in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night, owner Robert Sarver said, "to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation."
The decision to wear the jerseys on the Cinco de Mayo holiday stems from a law passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer that has drawn widespread criticism from Latino organizations and civil rights groups that say it could lead to racial profiling of Hispanics. President Barack Obama has called the law "misguided."
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In hockey, the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union (USSR) had some major political undertones. At the time the world was immersed in the “Cold War”. There was a clear divide between North America and the Soviet Union in terms of political beliefs and this evolved into a virtual standoff. There was a fear that at any moment war could erupt and both sides had access to nuclear weapons. The game of hockey and this series became bigger than the game as there was a huge amount of pride and nationalism being demonstrated on both sides. When the winning goal was scored in the final and deciding game it was celebrated as a huge victory, not only for Canadian hockey but also for the fight against communism.

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Politics and sports have been colliding for a very long time. There are many more examples of this over the course of history and I would encourage you to look them up and learn more. As long as sports are played on such a massive stage and with so many people watching, there will always be those who will bring their political views and beliefs into the ring or onto the field. Athletes have access to millions of eyes and their actions and statements can reach far and wide. Do these actions have any impact on the viewers? I know that people are very interested to see the next move in these political chess matches. What are your thoughts on politics and sports clashing? Do you think there is any place for politics in sports or should sports and politics be kept separate? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.