“Just play the game.”
“Stay in your lane.”
“Huwag niyo na bahiran ng politika ang laro.”
We probably have heard or seen these lines from sports fans to critique athletes around the globe at some point in our lives. When stars in the sports scene choose to raise awareness using their platforms, they are unavoidably met with massive criticism and frequently hostile languages.
Recently, the universities of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) have encouraged fans attending the games of the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament to wear pink shirts on game days to show support to the presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo.
A similar scenario happened back on October 3, 2016, when both Ateneo and De la Salle University encouraged their fans to wear black on their game day as a protest to the extrajudicial killings at that time and also the news about the late dictator, President Ferdinand Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani.
Sports have originated to determine social status, where the victors have become symbols of social, political, and religious power. A good example of this is the very first Olympics. At the games, they discussed critical political issues, celebrated military victories, and even formed military and political alliances.
Even sports personalities are running for a position in the government for the 2022 elections, like Manny Pacquiao (Boxing), James Yap (Basketball), Richard Gomez (Fencing), and Charo Soriano (Volleyball) and the list goes on.
In recent events, there was also the Black Lives Matter movement, where many athletes in the United States were primary leaders in the movement.
There is no reason to think that sports are immune or should be separated from politics. In fact, we don’t even have to look so far in the past to look for evidence. There isn’t a rule where athletes and sports organizations should be apolitical.
We all exist in a political world. Of course, our favorite athletes have the right not just to mind their own business because they also live in this world.
While it’s fun to watch games and not think about our own countries’ problems, we should treat athletes as people, too. They, as well, are capable of having their thoughts and opinions. They also live outside the court and don’t just exist for our entertainment.
This is supposed to be obvious, but it should be said.
When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during America’s National Anthem in protest of police brutality and racial injustice, the 49ners fans labeled him an “un-American” and even burned their jersey — the fans only saw him as a football player before they had seen him as black-American fighting for his people’s rights.
We can’t let the same thing happen again. It’s time to think that sport is innately political. Ignoring this will cause us to dehumanize our athletes and the issues they’re trying to raise and bring awareness to.
It’s time for us to stop labeling athletes as ‘just athletes’ and stop screaming ‘just play the game’ when they say something we disagree with.
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