| University research on activism in sport 08:33 - May 21 with 1606 views | theacademic |
Dear all,
I am involved in some research looking at sportsmen and women's activism in sport. For those of you interested in this topic area, I have created a short survey that should only take a few minutes of your time: https://northumbria.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/athlete-activism
Participation is completely voluntary, but I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this subject area. |  | | |  |
| University research on activism in sport on 06:27 - May 28 with 1529 views | theacademic |
Survey is still live if anyone has a spare few minutes. | | | |
| University research on activism in sport on 10:21 - May 28 with 1511 views | Ajack_Kerouac |
Done it, my responses...
1.Do you support an athlete's right to use sport as a platform to draw attention to a social or political cause or issue?
No.
Sport is for all. Politics is divisive and does not belong in sport.
By definition any athlete that takes a political stance instantly excludes a portion of the audience.
Politics is for politics, athletes are free to stand for office if they so wish.
Sport is for entertainment.
This divisive effect is amplified in team sports. Athletes speak for themselves, they don't speak for the team, the club, or the fan base.
There is an assumption in British media these days that an athlete who takes a political stance is being "brave". Yet the athletes that I have seen speak on politics have not taken stances on anything that would put themselves, personally, in any danger (either physically or financially).
E.g. - I don't see athletes condemning Muslim extremism
E.g. - I don't see athletes standing up for the children, the girls, who were the victims of Muslim grooming gangs...calling for consequences for the police chiefs and politicians who were in charge at the time.
E.g. - I did not see an individual footballer refuse to kneel for BLM during 2020...are we to believe that the young millionaire athletes who play Premier League football all support Marxism, the destruction of the nuclear family and the criminal activity that took place across U.S. (Democrat run) cities?
Instead what we have is athletes virtue signalling and taking stances that align with mass media narratives.
They are in effect participating in propaganda.
2."When he speaks, a lot of people listen," teammate Anthony Davis said recently of LeBron James. But are there any subjects about which you think athletes should not voice their opinions ?
Yes.
Athletes should not speak about subjects they know very little about.
E.g. - What qualifies LeBron James' opinion? As far as I am aware he is not well educated. An ignoramus with a big platform. This is dangerous as it amplifies the ignorant, uneducated opinions of people who have experienced very little in life (most athletes are pampered overgrown teenage boys/girls), have rarely opened a book and are usually financially compromised....LeBron James' wages are paid by the Chinese who own the NBA, therefore he is not free to criticise Left wing politics, political suppression in China, the possible genocide of Muslims in China. His impressionable fans, children/teenagers/and young men and women, will probably be unaware of LeBron James being compromised though.
3.In the past sportswear giants like Nike and Adidas have not been enthusiastic about their athletes getting involved in controversial social and political affairs. Do you think this is changing?
Yes.
It is changing because the people involved in the management structure of companies like Nike and Addidas have all attended universities in the US and Europe, and those Universities have been a haven for Left wing thought.
The statistics show that University professors, lecturers and staff are overwhelmingly Left wing and so we now have generations of management class that have been taught Left wing ideas and have been shielded from the truth about the destruction that Left wing political ideas brought to various countries of the world through the 20th century.
4.In football (soccer) kneeling before the games has become the norm. Should it continue or not?
No.
Politics does not belong in sport. The participants (athletes and fans) should not be cowed into tacit support for a political movement. The people who support the kneeling for BLM would riot if the players from their favourite team were pressured to kneel for the Conservative party (rightly).
What has been going on is nothing short of political bullying, which relies on the good nature of the majority to tolerate the likes of BLM and not riot. This double standard can continue no longer.
5.Recently English football (soccer) clubs, players, other athletes, and several sporting bodies have observed a 4-day boycott of social media to encourage social media companies to take a stronger stance against racist and sexist abuse by their users. Do you think collaborative social media boycotts can make a meaningful difference in the fight against online abuse?
It is not the job of sports clubs to censor speech and take political stances.
It is the job of sports clubs to run successful sports clubs and promote sport.
In my experience (I am referring to conversations with my fellow sports fans...builders, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, glazers, engineers, small business owners, farmers, volunteers at local sports club etc.) their local club siding with the Left on censoring free speech...just irritates them. I have heard again and again and again that there is a "double standard", and there is.
On my local club's fans forum I have seen Left wingers support riots, political censorship, policy that discriminates against people with white skin (any policy that discriminates on the basis of skin colour is racist and wrong)...I have seen people who support Brexit or the Tory party abused and bullied...and none of it is punished.
Therefore my club has no business censoring people on social media. |  |
| "It's what people know about themselves inside that makes them afraid" - "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act" - "The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it" |
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| University research on activism in sport on 10:43 - May 28 with 1504 views | onehunglow |
| University research on activism in sport on 10:21 - May 28 by Ajack_Kerouac |
Done it, my responses...
1.Do you support an athlete's right to use sport as a platform to draw attention to a social or political cause or issue?
No.
Sport is for all. Politics is divisive and does not belong in sport.
By definition any athlete that takes a political stance instantly excludes a portion of the audience.
Politics is for politics, athletes are free to stand for office if they so wish.
Sport is for entertainment.
This divisive effect is amplified in team sports. Athletes speak for themselves, they don't speak for the team, the club, or the fan base.
There is an assumption in British media these days that an athlete who takes a political stance is being "brave". Yet the athletes that I have seen speak on politics have not taken stances on anything that would put themselves, personally, in any danger (either physically or financially).
E.g. - I don't see athletes condemning Muslim extremism
E.g. - I don't see athletes standing up for the children, the girls, who were the victims of Muslim grooming gangs...calling for consequences for the police chiefs and politicians who were in charge at the time.
E.g. - I did not see an individual footballer refuse to kneel for BLM during 2020...are we to believe that the young millionaire athletes who play Premier League football all support Marxism, the destruction of the nuclear family and the criminal activity that took place across U.S. (Democrat run) cities?
Instead what we have is athletes virtue signalling and taking stances that align with mass media narratives.
They are in effect participating in propaganda.
2."When he speaks, a lot of people listen," teammate Anthony Davis said recently of LeBron James. But are there any subjects about which you think athletes should not voice their opinions ?
Yes.
Athletes should not speak about subjects they know very little about.
E.g. - What qualifies LeBron James' opinion? As far as I am aware he is not well educated. An ignoramus with a big platform. This is dangerous as it amplifies the ignorant, uneducated opinions of people who have experienced very little in life (most athletes are pampered overgrown teenage boys/girls), have rarely opened a book and are usually financially compromised....LeBron James' wages are paid by the Chinese who own the NBA, therefore he is not free to criticise Left wing politics, political suppression in China, the possible genocide of Muslims in China. His impressionable fans, children/teenagers/and young men and women, will probably be unaware of LeBron James being compromised though.
3.In the past sportswear giants like Nike and Adidas have not been enthusiastic about their athletes getting involved in controversial social and political affairs. Do you think this is changing?
Yes.
It is changing because the people involved in the management structure of companies like Nike and Addidas have all attended universities in the US and Europe, and those Universities have been a haven for Left wing thought.
The statistics show that University professors, lecturers and staff are overwhelmingly Left wing and so we now have generations of management class that have been taught Left wing ideas and have been shielded from the truth about the destruction that Left wing political ideas brought to various countries of the world through the 20th century.
4.In football (soccer) kneeling before the games has become the norm. Should it continue or not?
No.
Politics does not belong in sport. The participants (athletes and fans) should not be cowed into tacit support for a political movement. The people who support the kneeling for BLM would riot if the players from their favourite team were pressured to kneel for the Conservative party (rightly).
What has been going on is nothing short of political bullying, which relies on the good nature of the majority to tolerate the likes of BLM and not riot. This double standard can continue no longer.
5.Recently English football (soccer) clubs, players, other athletes, and several sporting bodies have observed a 4-day boycott of social media to encourage social media companies to take a stronger stance against racist and sexist abuse by their users. Do you think collaborative social media boycotts can make a meaningful difference in the fight against online abuse?
It is not the job of sports clubs to censor speech and take political stances.
It is the job of sports clubs to run successful sports clubs and promote sport.
In my experience (I am referring to conversations with my fellow sports fans...builders, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, glazers, engineers, small business owners, farmers, volunteers at local sports club etc.) their local club siding with the Left on censoring free speech...just irritates them. I have heard again and again and again that there is a "double standard", and there is.
On my local club's fans forum I have seen Left wingers support riots, political censorship, policy that discriminates against people with white skin (any policy that discriminates on the basis of skin colour is racist and wrong)...I have seen people who support Brexit or the Tory party abused and bullied...and none of it is punished.
Therefore my club has no business censoring people on social media. |
Have to say,that is some post;possibly the most thought provoking and articulate Ive ever seen.
Food for thought if nowt else. | |
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| University research on activism in sport on 20:39 - May 28 with 1459 views | Jack59 |
Excellent response to the survey by AK. I answered similarly, but not so eliquently. | | | |
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