Sport

Time Out: Why there should always be room for sportspeople to have their say

Neil Loughran

Neil Loughran

Neil has worked as a sports reporter at The Irish News since 2008, with particular expertise in GAA and boxing coverage.

At a press conference ahead of Tuesday evening’s clash with Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr refused to talk about basketball - instead delivering an impassioned plea for change to America's gun laws
At a press conference ahead of Tuesday evening’s clash with Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr refused to talk about basketball - instead delivering an impassioned plea for change to America's gun laws At a press conference ahead of Tuesday evening’s clash with Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr refused to talk about basketball - instead delivering an impassioned plea for change to America's gun laws

IT is a fickle relationship the sports-watching public have with those at whose altar they so often worship. We want to see personality, sure – but not too much, lest you stray into bit-of-a-twat territory (see the Jack Grealish arc since last weekend).

And what about opinions? Hell yeah, we love them, show us what you got! Isn’t it so refreshing to hear somebody speak their mind, uninhibited by the pressures of the public position they occupy?

Well, yeah, I suppose, but - as Eugene Branagan discovered earlier this month - you may be prepared for those same words to be rammed right back down your throat from all sides should they go against the grain. Hey, keep your damn opinions to yourself!

It’s one thing talking about the winning mentality, or lack thereof, within your county’s panel, but sportspeople straying into the political domain - planting a studded boot, a running spike or a basketball sneaker across that most dividing of lines - opens up another debate.

Do we care? Should we care? Or would it be better for all concerned if they just said nothing and got on with the game?

There has always been a reluctance among sports stars to wade into anything that might bring unwanted attention to their door, and that position has become further entrenched since the advent of the multi-million pound sponsorship deal.

Too much hassle, too many potential landmines - too much to lose. Let me call my publicist to find out what I think.

That is their right, of course; there is no obligation to speak out just because of what you do – the notion that if you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing is to grossly oversimplify the matter.

Take Irish golfers Padraig Harrington and Shane Lowry. In an interview with Paul Kimmage back in 2017, they were asked about the ire drawn by Rory McIlroy’s ill-advised decision to play a round of golf with then-US President Donald Trump.

Lowry admitted he had little interest in politics, and didn’t feel qualified to speak on any such issues. Harrington, on the other hand, admitted he had strong views and strong opinions – but didn’t feel being a golfer entitled him to air them.

“Because I have the ability to hit a little white golf ball I get this big soapbox to stand on,” said the Dubliner, “but I don't have to use it, and I don't believe I should.

“There are professors and educated people qualified to do that. They should be given the soapbox, not me. But the problem is that the sportsperson will be listened to.”

Feeding into that same line of thought is the derision that so often accompanies a sportsperson commenting on issues affecting them or their community.

A few years back, after basketball player Lebron James – one of the world’s most high-profile athletes – criticised Trump, he was advised to “shut up and dribble” by Fox News host Laura Ingraham.

"It's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball.” In other words, stay in your lane, jock.

But why should they?

It’s not like crossing the streams of sport and politics is a new phenomenon. John Carlos and Tommie Smith - two black Americans wearing black gloves, raising their fists in the black power salute at the 1968 Olympic Games - remains one of sport’s most enduring images, it’s power demanding the wider world's attention.

Muhammad Ali lost the peak years of his career by taking a stand against the Vietnam War.

Called a draft-dodger, a pariah, a charlatan, he was frozen out of boxing for three-and-a-half years, from 25 to 29. Although the fights for which he is best known occurred upon his return to the ring, Ali had unquestionably lost something of what he had.

Yet, while mud was slung at Ali from every possible direction, who does history ultimately favour when looking back over 50 years on? The man of principle, or those behind a botched war?

If the last couple of days have shown us anything, it’s that the discussion is much more nuanced than the Laura Ingraham types would have you believe.

On Tuesday, at a press conference ahead of that evening’s Western Conference clash with Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr refused to talk about basketball, or the game that lay hours away.

Instead, the former Chicago Bulls point guard delivered an almost three-minute monologue in response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that morning, in which two adults and 19 children between the ages of seven and 10 were gunned down.

Eighteen-year-old Salvador Ramos had in his possession a handgun, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines when he barricaded those children into a classroom.

In 1984 Steve Kerr’s father, Malcolm, was gunned down while serving as President of the American University of Beirut. Kerr was 19 at the time.

Through the years, from one tragedy to the next, Kerr has consistently implored government officials to make meaningful changes to America's gun control laws. At Tuesday’s press conference, on the verge of tears, his lips trembled as he delivered his message, loud and clear.

“When are we going to do something?” he asked, slamming his fist off the table.

“I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. I'm tired of the moments of silence. Enough!

“There's 50 senators right now who refuse to vote on HR8, which is a background check rule that the House passed a couple years ago. It's been sitting there for two years. And there's a reason they won't vote on it: to hold onto power.

“We can't get numb to this. We can't sit here and just read about it and go, well, let's have a moment of silence - yeah, ‘go Dubs’, ‘c'mon, Mavs, let's go…’ They won't vote on it because they want to hold onto their own power. It's pathetic. I've had enough!”

Kerr’s address was raw, honest and heartfelt. It jolted viewers in a way no suited politico ever could, his words making you take notice.

Nobody wants to open to the door to Tyson Fury’s views on Brexit finding their way into the public arena, or Alex Scott’s take on the protocol, but when the moment is right - and the cause correct - there should always be a place for sporting voices to be heard.