Stick to sports, the familiar refrain goes.
People who chronicle games for a living hear this all the time, even louder when politics veer into the inner sanctums of locker rooms and the victory creating a buzz affects something greater than the standings. Surely the biggest upset in political history, the presidential equivalent of Villanova beating Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA final, qualifies.
For someone paid to provide perspective on sporting events, it’s impossible to ignore how President-elect Donald Trump defeating Hillary Clinton on Tuesday potentially affects the dynamic of every team in every city. Trump’s brazen comments on women and minorities during the campaign made him a polarizing figure in an increasingly diverse, multicultural sports world, a man whose audacious opinions left little room for middle ground. It would be irresponsible not to ask, and irresistible not to wonder, how teammates in Chicago who backed different candidates supported a common cause without those allegiances interfering with competition.
The latest instance came Thursday at Halas Hall when Bears quarterback Jay Cutler concluded his news conference by labeling himself a Trump supporter.
“I’m happy with the results,” Cutler said, smiling. “I’ve supported Trump for awhile. I’m not going to dive into it. I know it’s a sensitive issue, but I like where it’s going.”
Immediately I wondered how Cutler’s African-American teammates would view a team leader’s public endorsement of Trump, who has alienated many people of color, and whether the quarterback had explored their point of view. I considered the opposite effect too — how supporting Trump could have helped Cutler find common ground with other like-minded teammates. I speculated whether the opinions about Trump among the Bears were divided along racial lines.
And I expected nobody’s presidential preferences to affect how Cutler or the Bears play Sunday during a four-hour period when only the color of the uniform matters and everybody agrees on the ideology of winning. Such is the nature of football and the beauty of sports, one of society’s strongest unifiers.
That made me realize sticking to sports is the worst thing anybody can do in this week of national tumult, when protests continue in American cities over an election outcome so few anticipated and so many struggled to understand. Sports aren’t as much an escape as an example.
At a time of so much national introspection, the sports world can offer instruction on how to respect each other’s differences, put them aside and still work together toward the same goal — a challenge in many places of employment since Wednesday morning. Every coach at every level can incorporate the week’s lessons to take a stab at building unity, even insular Alabama coach Nick Saban, who claimed not to know Tuesday was Election Day. (Note to self: Remember that the next time Saban refers to himself as an educator.)
Expecting a winning team to help cure a city’s problems with violence or education is a fool’s errand, but paying attention to how the athletes forge on between sound bites and seismic sociological shifts is advisable. The words of players and coaches from all walks of life not only provoke thought, but their collective actions occasionally provide a model to copy. These aren’t just quotable public figures saying compelling things, they are supplying teachable moments. Speak your piece, show respect and tolerance for opposing viewpoints and find a way to do your job with professionalism.
Like Warriors coach Steve Kerr did before Wednesday’s victory over the Mavericks.
“Maybe we should’ve seen it coming over the last 10 years,” Kerr began. “You look at society, you look at what’s popular. People are getting paid millions of dollars to go on TV and scream at each other, whether it’s in sports or politics or entertainment, and I guess it was only a matter of time before it spilled into politics. But then all of a sudden you’re faced with the reality that the man who’s going to lead you has routinely used racist, misogynist, insulting words. … That’s a tough one. I wish him well.”
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy, perhaps lacking Kerr’s eloquence but not his emotion, went on a six-minute, anti-Trump rant that revealed how distraught his players were over the election before their game.
“I don’t think anybody can deny this guy is openly and brazenly racist and misogynist and ethnic-centric, and say, ‘That’s OK with us, we’re going to vote for him anyway,’ ” Van Gundy said. “We have just thrown a good part of our population under the bus.”
We also heard from respected coaches like Trump buddy Bill Belichick and Doc Rivers and outspoken players Martellus Bennett and David West, among others in professional and college sports. We interpreted well-conceived arguments and ill-advised reactions, benefiting from every opinion offered and every conversation started, however uncomfortable. Let the dialogue continue.
We in the sports media cannot encourage athletes to speak or act out and then criticize them if we disagree with their positions or methods. The small-minded, knee-jerk statements must be accepted as well as the socially conscious ones; the unfortunate Jake Arrieta tweet tolerated as much as the eloquent Dwyane Wade statement.
There indeed will be times those of us instructed not to cheer in the press box are best sticking to sports. This week wasn’t one of them.
