Strong Voices
Athletes using sports platforms to push for social change
From Serena Williams to Carmelo Anthony, athletes today are using their wealth and fame to bring attention to the violence that has erupted across the country.
Anthony, a New York Knicks basketball star, took a break Monday from his preparation with the Olympic basketball team to host a meeting in Los Angeles with athletes, politicians and community members to advance the conversation about what he’s called a broken system.
Today’s athletes have a level of power that famed boxer Muhammed Ali and others didn’t have in the 1960s, although how much social change modern athletes can cause remains to be seen.
“Sports in modern societies really amount to secular religions,” said University of California-Berkeley professor emeritus Harry Edwards. “Athletes have a phenomenal megaphone . ... So that obligation to speak up, especially in regards to the African-American outcomes and interests, is critical.”
Edwards said he believes as “walking corporations” wealthy athletes carry more weight than “the doctor up the street or the lawyer around the corner or even the community organizer.”
The newfound power of today’s athlete comes from monetary wealth, celebrity status and having social media to communicate directly with the masses. They can reach hordes of people, encouraging them to get involved in social change.
“Joe Louis and Jack Johnson and Jesse Owens struggled for legitimacy,” Edwards said. Then “you began this strug-
gle for access. Which is what Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby and Kenny Washington and all those guys were involved in. In the 1960s, the struggle was for respect and dignity.
“Now the struggle is for power,” Edwards said. “And these men have power. So they have a different forum than we had in the late 1960s to be able to go on network television and make a statement concerning violence and the killing of black men, women and children in this country . ... That’s an exercise of power. They have the capability today that we only dreamed about in the 1960s when only one or two athletes even had endorsements.”
Anthony, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade gave an anti-violence speech at the ESPYS and expressed their support of the values behind the Black Lives Matter movement. University of Missouri football players threatened to boycott games last year in support of student groups protesting the school’s racial environment.
Missouri president Timothy Wolfe eventually retired. Serena Williams spoke out at Wimbledom against the U.S. violence. Members of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury recently wore black warm up shirts in the wake of recent shootings by and against police officers, and were fined by the league. The league rescinded the fines after a public backlash.
It is nearly economically impossible to ignore today’s athletes as the power they wield reaches further than their own bank accounts.
James is literally worth millions of dollars to the Cleveland economy as the success of the Cavaliers motivates thousands of people to spend. Cavs’ attendance ranked No. 2 in the league in 2009-10 and the last two seasons, but dipped as low as No. 22 during James’ four years in Miami.
Social media allows athletes to directly communicate with millions of fans and followers with a few keystrokes and encourage action. Edwards explained the Islamic State has used social media in a similar way to recruit self-radicalized people. The difference is in the message.
Joseph Cooper, assistant professor at the University of Connecticut, said there now must be action behind the athletes’ words.
“All these athletes say, ‘We care about the Black Lives Matter movement.’ In a year from now we want to see that you’ve actually been continuing in championing the support,” Cooper said. “Muhammed Ali’s legacy is a great example of how he didn’t rest on his laurels in making one decision and saying, ‘OK, that’s enough.’ ’’