Where is Sports & America going in My Opinion

 

Where is Sports & America going in My Opinion


Wow has sports changed in the last year!  Really think about it just about six months ago I was writing about how sports had gone into the “bubble” and how some sports had come to a stop.  We were season ticket holders for the Arizona Diamondbacks and enjoyed it.  Right up until Covid hit.

Everything Stopped…

Then baseball stopped, the NBA stopped the play-offs, and the entire sports world just went a bit crazy in my opinion.  The NBA came back and finished their season, football kind of played a season, it seemed as if there were a lot of game changes, fines, and cancellations because of covid.  Even golf was affected, think about that, a nearly zero contact sport, affected by covid.  Eleven major events, I believe were cancelled and all four majors were either cancelled or delayed because of it.  I know the Phoenix Open, wasn’t open in 2020, I for one missed it.

 So everyone seems to believe that for the most part, that is all that is affecting or will affect sports in the future.  Not just this year, but for some time.

But first, let me go to the not-so-distant past

  First let me state that I for one started losing my love for the pro-sports over a few things.  The first was overpaid athletes that seemed to think they had some sort of privilege.  A privilege that a lot of Hollywood seems to believe they have also.  Things like break the law and get a slap on the wrist.  Whereas any average person would do time, the privileged do not or do very little because they pay their way out of it.  Sports figures have joined that club, maybe they already were in it and I did not notice it so much.  I am not sure which is true, but it is true now.

So I first began losing my enjoyment of professional sports from the privilege they seemed to think they deserved.  So many assholes out there, so little patience for it in my soul.  The other reason I lost some love for sports and particularly the NFL, was when Colin Kaepernick began protesting the National Anthem and the American Flag.  I am a U.S. Army Veteran and it got under my skin.  Other vet’s feel differently, many feel the same as I, but that is another story.  Here is what was said, at the time it first happened.

And I Quote:

“Kaepernick took a knee during the anthem before the final exhibition, on Sept. 1, 2016, in San Diego, with teammate Eric Reid joining him in protest. Kaepernick went from sitting (previous game’s, not in uniform) to kneeling after a conversation with Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret and NFL player. “We sort of came to a middle ground where he would take a knee alongside his teammates,” Boyer told HBO’s “Real Sports.” “Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother’s grave, you know, to show respect.” (credit the Washington Post)

Like many American’s,

All I saw was a man kneeling when he should have been standing and showing respect to our American flag, the symbol of our Nation.  I at the time didn’t care to hear his message then and there.  I felt he was sending the right message but at the wrong place and time.  I just wanted my favorite sport to be a sport, not a message, not an outlet, not political, not about race, religion, human rights, just a sport that I could sit and watch and enjoy.  One that would take me away from the “real news” of today, however, Colin Kaepernick brought the real news, the real world into my Sunday afternoon sports.  Thanks Colin.

That was the beginning of my disenchantment with sports.  But then that is also when real life as I will call it here, and sports intertwined.  What Colin was saying was about basic human rights, the right to life, equal life.  The right to be treated equally, no matter how you look.  That message should be loud and clear, but somehow it is still foggy.  My opinion (and that is what you are getting here) is that the message has been drug through the mud and good people who are not harming or hating anyone are being harmed by the delivery of that message.

Basic Human Rights

And this basic human rights message needs to be addressed on the level of sports.  I do not believe that uniform changes or kneeling or raising a fist during the anthem is how we change it.  I think it must be started by the owners, the coaches, the trainers, by every single person involved on every single team from little league to pro.

They need to start treating people equally and paying better attention.  Does it matter if the person you are hiring is different than the one you look in the mirror at every day?  They need to recognize that there are race, gender, and LGBT+ inequality and injustices happening on a regular basis.  When we begin the recognition at a local level with children being taught by more open-minded Adults working with them, we will be raising a future generation of Americans that has gotten past what we are dealing with in our country right now.

Wake Up America

What I am talking about is parents going home to their kids and explaining how police officers (of all races) are beating up, even killing unarmed citizens.  How we are once again having mass shootings across the nation in a sudden rash that is spreading as quickly as covid did a year ago.  How neighbors no longer look at the neighbor and know their name and are friends with them.  They are sadly just the stranger next door.

Sports must look at all of this, why you may ask.  Because athletes come from all walks of life and if they are no longer being taught humanity and kindness and teamwork at home, then the future of sports and our Beautiful, Colorful Nation is at risk right along with the future of sports.

Millionaire Owners

 Owners of all the teams need to be proactive not just with their team, but active with their community.  Don’t just authorize a check to be written, lead by example, get out there and show the community that you care.  Come out from behind your golden gated neighborhood and see the real community that loves the teams you own.

Namaste ~ Momma Janet

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