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Now
IIt started out like your typical pro
football player puff piece. But then, tucked away drowsily in
the last paragraph, Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Adalius
Thomas, emerged with something to say. As Sports Illustrated's
Peter King wrote,
"[Thomas] is politically
alert, and not afraid to express his views, which makes him a
rarity in the NFL. 'What's the Iraq war all about?' he said,
his voice rising. 'If it's about oil, just say that. Don't give
us this Weapons of Mass Destruction crap when all you find is
three firecrackers.'
'You get a little fired up
about that,' he was told.
'We all have brains,' he said.
'We should use them.'"
The message was clear: Whether
you're an offensive tackle, a trash talking quarterback, or Dick
Cheney: don't mess with Big Adalius.
Thomas is only the latest in
a stellar cast of pro players chafing against silence, and sounding
off against the war and occupation of Iraq. Steve Nash, Etan
Thomas, Josh Howard, Adam Morrison, Carlos Delgado, Martina Navratilova,
Adonal Foyle, and even Ultimate Fighting Champion Jeff Monson,
among others, have all raised their voice. They are also just
the beginning. Stories circulate of teammates and coaches who
share their views but don't want to go public. Even some referees
whisper covert statements of support.
Three years ago, The Nation
Magazine writers Peter Dreier & Kelly Candaele asked the
question "Where are the Jocks for Justice?" My experience
in the Sportsworld is that the "Jocks for Justice"
are both everywhere and nowhere. Progressive athletes strain
to be heard, but they act as individuals and the media responds
with a smothering silence. This does not have to be.
Pro athletes hold claim to
a unique and underutilized bully pulpit. Two middle fingers from
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick have sent sports radio
and television into a tizzy. Chicago Bulls center Ben Wallace
wants to wear a red headband in defiance of team rules and a
raucous debate explodes about something last popularized by Olivia
Newton-John. The furor over Barry Bonds' place in history has
led to a more honest discussion about racism than anything we
get in the mainstream press. Anti-war athletes could use this
platform if they just stopped operating, in isolation from one
another. If the people I cited called a joint press conference to
announce a new organization: Athletes United Against War or -
what the hell - Jocks for Justice, it would electrify the cultural
landscape. Think I'm exaggerating? Consider the case of Toni
Smith. In 2003, the Division III Manhattanville women's hoops
captain decided that she was going to turn her back to the flag
during the National Anthem to protest not only the war abroad
but "the injustices and inequities at home." Yipping
Heads lined up to debate whether Toni had the "right"
to express her views. Everyone from ESPN to 20/20 to 60 Minutes
wanted a piece of her story.
Remember, this is Division
III women's basketball. Crowds usually rival a well-attended
K-Fed concert. If Toni Smith from Manhattanville could, for a
brief moment, polarize the Sportsworld imagine what Steve Nash,
backed by an organization, could do?
And yet it hasn't happened
and it's worth asking why. Of the players I have spoken with,
two main reasons emerge. The first is pessimism. Like most people
in this country, pro athletes don't believe that they have any
power to determine the course of this war. The thought is that
the media might give them some coverage, but in the end, nothing
would change and they would just earn ESPN radio's "Just
Shut Up Award" for their trouble. One said to me, "The
quickest way to win that Just Shut Up award is to have something
to say."
The other roadblock is straight-up
fear: fear that taking an unpopular stand would mean a quick
ticket out of the SportsWorld along with its attendant privileges.
All NBA players know the cautionary tales of Craig Hodges and
Mahmoud Abdul Rauf. They took stands against US foreign policy
and found themselves drummed out of the league like they were
the Bush twins in Buenos Aires. Most athletes came up poor and
it is not a life anyone wants to revisit.
As Jim Brown said in a recent
interview with Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson, "The Civil
Rights movement is over. Individuals can buy homes wherever they
want, travel first class wherever they want, eat wherever they
want. All of these things now are part of the everyday lives
of players. But the discrimination and racism in the world now
is very subtle. It's poor people that are really suffering from
a lack of inclusion. Poor people live in a part of town that
most players don't go into, and those people aren't an issue
as far as the league is concerned. Basically, the players have
become part of the elite part of society. And I mean regardless
of their color or anything like that. They are part of the elite
part of our society because of money and status. So there's not
discrimination based on black and white; it's more of a discrimination
based on the rich and the poor."
The fear is real but can be
conquered by letting the silent players know they are not alone.
Even two anti-war athletes sitting together in a room would be
a start. Imagine the possibilities. They could issue a statement
about their right to speak out and not just "shut up and
play." They could perform simple tasks like wearing black
ribbons on the court or field in honor of those on both sides
who have died. They could host a charity game for peace organizations.
Yes, there would be risk. But
returning soldiers have courted risk by starting Iraqi Veterans
Against the War. Cindy Sheehan courted risk by camping out in
front of Bush's Crawford compound. Muslims in DC recently courted
tremendous risk by organizing a "pray-in" at Reagan
National Airport. It's the risk that makes the action worth a
damn. They might lose an endorsement or two, but they would gain
a chance to make some history. Consider this a challenge. It's
time for Athletes Against War to take root. We have the players.
We have the sentiment of the public. All we need is for our lost
tribe of Athletic Rebels to locate one another. If Big Adalius
stands among them, they shouldn't be too hard to find.
CounterPunch
Speakers Bureau Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid?
CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair
are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues,
as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call
CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org.
