I think it is perfectly fine for athletes to take political stances, but its rare, and therefore a bigger issue when it happens, due in most part I believe to the amount of money in sports. Many athletes make a lot from sponsorships or endorsement deals from companies like Nike, Adidas, Hanes, Gatorade, etc.. I think athletes keep in mind that there is the chance that their endorsement deals might get pulled if they take a stance on a political issue. I think that if you were to take the money and sponsorship money out of sports, you would see more star athletes make political statements in some way.
On a similar note, one thing that came to my mind when I thought of this topic was the government's role in the steriod issue in baseball. While I don't think the players should've been using steriods, HGH, or any other performance-enhancing drug, I don't think the government should be getting involved. There are way more important issues that the government should be dealing with than baseball players taking steriods.
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I agree with Ben here in the sense that the government should not have stepped in on the steroid issue in sports. I think that the issue should be dealt with inside the directors/CEOs/presidents of the organization in the sport is instead. I think that the government has many more important issues they should be taking care of rather than worrying about sports and steroids.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Ben has a great point in saying that the athletes do not state their opinions on politics because of the fact of their sponsorships and endorsements. This is not a selfish act, but I just think they have the best interest of themselves and their peers in mind when dealing with the public.
I dont know if i totally buy the fact that athletes keep there mouth closed because of there endorsements. Michael vick had tons of endorsements and he still ran a dog fighting circuit. I guarantee this lost vick a lot more endorsement deals than if he would have spoken out on politics. Do you think ochocinco thinks about his endorsements before he starts rambling to the media? of T.O? I just dont think that most of these athletes are too concerned about endorsements, which basically means money. They have plenty.
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