Will athlete activism carry into 2021?
Corporate Canada’s support for athletes’ voices still in question
TORONTO — An athlete with a megaphone, fist raised in furious protest. Teammates kneeling, heads bowed, linked armin-arm. Political slogans — “Vote Warnock” — across the chest of warmup shirts. A pair of shoes on a chair, customized with powerful Black Lives Matter images.
Some of the most enduring sports i mages from 2020 weren’t buzzer-beaters or goal celebrations. They came in the moments away from the game.
History will determine whether 2020 was a watershed year for athlete activism. And whether the momentum will continue in 2021 is still to be written.
Russell Reimer believes the momentum could continue. The founder and CEO of Manifesto Sport Management expects protests at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.
“There’s going to be a John Carlos moment in Tokyo 2021,” Reimer said.
Carlos and Tommie Smith, American sprinters, raised black-gloved fists on the 1968 Olympic medal podium, an image revisited in recent months as racial injustice protests raged across the U.S. and abroad.
How would Reimer feel if the Tokyo protester was one of the athletes he represents?
“Incredibly proud. Incredibly proud,” he said. “Here’s the situation, I think one courageous athlete is going to change the entire Olympic movement.”
Athlete activism will be a hotbutton topic heading into the Tokyo Games. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees — a major power broker in the Olympic arena — made a bold move last month, announcing they won’t punish athletes for peaceful protests in Tokyo.
Canada has taken a softer stance. The majority of Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes recently surveyed don’t support protests on the field of play, including the podium or opening and closing ceremonies. The COC athletes commission, which was so instrumental in postponing the Olympics amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sent seven recommendations to the IOC on protests, including establishing neutral spaces for that purpose.
“The athlete voice I think is gaining incredible momentum and we’re about to find out if the IOC is going to be like the NBA and listen to its athletes, to be an athlete-led and driven organization, or if it’s going to cling to what I think is an anachronistic rule that belongs in the past, and should have been contemplated and buried shortly after Mexico in 1968,” said Reimer, whose management company represents athletes such as figure skater Tessa Virtue, Toronto Blue Jays infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner.
The NBA and WNBA led the way in activism this past summer. The WNBA has been instrumental in a tight Georgia Senate race, supporting Reverend Raphael Warnock after Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler scoffed at the league’s human rights messaging.
The race went to a run-off, and Georgians headed to the polls Tuesday. Loeffler’s own Atlanta Dream team made one final push for Warnock on Monday, posting a video message on social media.
“There are moments that make or break us. There are moments that challenge us. And there are moments that make history,” players said in the video. “And this moment chose us.”
Canadian Jamal Murray ’s shoes were a striking image last summer, left on a chair during a Zoom media availability for two minutes in the NBA bubble. They bore the images of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, two high-profile victims in police killings of Black people.
“I just wanted it to resonate with you guys,” the Denver Nuggets guard told reporters. “How long was that (his sneakers on the chair)? Two minutes? One of the persons on my shoes had a knee on their neck for eight.”
Athletes made their voices heard. Will Canadian sponsors have their backs?
A storyline leading into the Tokyo Games, scheduled to open in just under 200 days, will be whether or not corporate Canada will support social justice messages.
“When you have times of such contrast, you can’t sit on the fence, you’ve got to pick a side,” said Indiana Fever forward Natalie Achonwa, a Toronto native.
“That’s where companies have had to decide what side of history we’re going to sit on. And in how they’ve reacted, or not reacted, or what they’ve said or haven’t said, is how I choose or who I choose to partner with as well.”
Achon was aid Glossier’ s “Body Heroes of the WNBA” campaign was an example of one company that got it right. The campaign highlighted WNBA players’ lives, routines and perspectives on beauty.
Nike launched a sombre “Don’t Do It” campaign, words on a black screen that began with “For once, don’t do it. Don’t pretend there’s not a problem in America.”
“I’m afraid there hasn’t really been a lot to be encouraged by in respect to brands in Canada investing in consumer-facing campaigns linking to Black athletes and the fight against systemic racism,” said Brian Levine, founder and president of Envision Sports & Entertainment, a Toronto-based company.
Reimer said what’s required is a “courageous brand.”
“The challenge that we have typically in Canada is that we don’t have really bold brand partners here that will do that work.”
Ac honwa,w how on the WNBA’s Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award last season, said the work goes beyond talking the talk. It’s great, she said, that individuals and companies posted black squares on their social media profiles in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
“But what did you do with that? What more work have you done?” she said. “I love to hear a group say, ‘Black lives matter to us.’ Well, what does your organizational structure look like? How many people on your board are people of colour? Are you putting your money where your mouth is? Are you walking the walk? It’s great to talk to talk, but are you backing it up?”