Question for the board: Are you as tired as I am that Lebron James and other athletes continually trash our President? Just because you have God given athletic ability does nor make you an expert on the Economy, national security, or political science.
OT - NBA & Politics
- Thread starter mattr35
- Start date
I haven watched an NBA game since Dr J retired.
Anyone who trashes President Trump can consider themselves my adversary worthy of contempt. You can disagree without trashing. Big difference.
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Nor does having the contrarian opinion. He’s entitled to his opinion just like everyone else. If I didn’t follow athletes, listen to music, watch TV, shop at certain stores, eat at certain restaurants because someone involved had a differing opinion...I’d be awfully bored.
Miss vs the Bird vs Magic era of NBA basketball!
I’m indifferent on the issue. But is he behaving any differently that the way Trump and others behave?
He had a 40 minute Q & A recently where he stated that politics and sports shouldnt be combined. Then proceeded to call Trump a ‘bum’. Then said everyone that voted for him was ‘uneducated’. Lastly, he wore one white show and one black shoe at a game in Washington with ‘Equality’ written on the back to send a message to Trump.
IMO - Having the black and white shoes on was divisive in itself.
IMO - Having the black and white shoes on was divisive in itself.
How is that different than anything Trump has said about anyone he disagreed with? It’s all the same to me.
No athlete should exploit their national attention for a political agenda. No matter which side their view aligns with, its wrong. They are paid to exploit their talents for entertainment, and that doesn’t include politics. I do grant a small exception for those who get off their duffs and do something about an issue (other than bitching and crying about it on social media), such as donating money to a cause, attending fundraisers, starting foundations, etc...
Ask ESPN how political views and sports worked out for them!
There's NO place for political opinion by a Hollywood actress or prime time athlete.
Most folks watch those people for ENTERTAINMENT not a political view from them!
Period!
There's NO place for political opinion by a Hollywood actress or prime time athlete.
Most folks watch those people for ENTERTAINMENT not a political view from them!
Period!
I just wish the average person would realize what your asking these athletes to, no one cares how you feel. Just go live your life. But somehow the average person thinks they have a right to an opinion but anyone who's popular doesn't.
I'm one of those tired of the poor me from both sides of the political spectrum.
I'm one of those tired of the poor me from both sides of the political spectrum.
To me the difference is not that they have a difference of opinion but that if a white playr had done same thing when O was in office he probably would have the FBI investigation started to find out why.I don't care I don't watch the NBA. My opinon SMTTT
Boxing, are you suggesting that if one person does something disrespectful that everyone else Should be disrespectful also? Take ‘Trump’ and ‘LeBron’ out of the equation and substitute ‘Obama’ and ‘Schillings’. Does that change anything? How about Dixie Chicks & George Bush? Jane Fonda and everyone??
Who made Trump the measuring stick for how to behave appropriately? I see what you're trying to do here but the logic is bad. Even if he's not any worse than Trump, he's still immature for doing stupid little things to make a point and thereby stooping to his level.
Shrouded in all of this political hoopla are hundreds of other athletes who keep their political agendas personal and come out and give their all on the playing medium. That should be applauded, while this other nonsense (whether from the president or from popular figures) should be looked down upon.
That's my opinion. Some people believe you should live lives of "speaking out" and creating chaos for the sake of making change happen. Suit yourself... I prefer to be a decent person, treat people with respect, and walk the walk before talking the talk.
Well, NBA ratings are way up. They have the most recognizable young stars among the key demographic. Their players are making more than ever before. Attendance hasn't suffered. Its on the verge of replacing the NFL as the professional sport with the most interest. Endorsements are way up. Yeah that politics stuff has really hurt them.
As to ESPN, it isn't as much the politics as the cord cutters. Otherwise Disney, who has to feed that ravenous mouse, would reverse that in the interest of profit and stock prices. As it is, they have started a move to more internet/mobile platforms and buying up the competition (Fox Regional Sports), along with buying much of the Fox Entertainment division.
As to ESPN, it isn't as much the politics as the cord cutters. Otherwise Disney, who has to feed that ravenous mouse, would reverse that in the interest of profit and stock prices. As it is, they have started a move to more internet/mobile platforms and buying up the competition (Fox Regional Sports), along with buying much of the Fox Entertainment division.
No I’m saying both sides are equally hypocritical and everyone has a right to a voice.
No they wouldn't. It's as simple as this: Either allow the players to publicly support their causes & thoughts or no one show support to anything. I'm ok with keeping the players from protesting or wearing something out of uniform while it's "Gametime" BUT stop all forms of support outside of basketball while it's "Gametime" (Ex: domestic abuse, patriotism, breast cancer). Either allow it all as long as there's no disruption to the 48 minutes or allow nothing.
I don't care what anyone's politics are, I just get tired of people dogging the POTUS time after time. I'm not a fan of the NBA, but that is due to the way the game is played and the crying about every call. Women's basketball is a more pure game to me, played below the rim, passing, and running an offense is more important. Not who can get in a one on one, drive to the lane, get it to the big guy, and then foul and watch a player shoot free throws.
Negligible, at best. Basketball is an international sport as opposed to American football. Wouldn't stop you from watching if you heard or seen players from Russia, Brazil, or Turkey disrespecting their anthem. There's a number of things going equally wrong for the NFL TV slump including the Kaep/anthem, major injuries, viewer fatigue, cord cutters, just to name a few.
I don't care about someone's politics either but you can't have it both ways, Heath. You can't be upset about athletes speaking negatively about Trump and not say it's also wrong when Trump does the same thing. You can't ask for separation of sports and policies only in 1 direction.
I'm speaking of the office, I'd show full respect to Obama, Clinton, Carter as I would show Trump. Anyone can disagree with him that is American, but to keep doing it over and over again shows a lack of respect to the office. Especially when it's all an athlete talks about. I am curious to know what the President has done that has made these players speak out so much.
ITC we are going to have to respectfully disagree on this one. IF 20-30% of the NBA sat for the Anthem it would put a serious hit on their ratings. That is why their owners and commissioner stepped in and forced them to stand. The fact that there are foreign players in the league has absolutely nothing to do with this either. Absolutely nothing.
No sir. The commissioner and others did nothing. Standing was already part of contract well before any protesting. A hit, maybe but the NFL already had things going negatively before then. Hell, just CTE by itself was worrying people enough to drop ratings a little.
I know it was part of the contract. That’s my point. They proactively addresses this and then reaffirmed their stance after all the ignorance surrounding the NFL. Very smart on their part. Not so smart on the part of some of the NFL owners and their commish.
No one is suggesting not allowing them to have an opinion, but it's exploiting their national or global attention to push an agenda that is the issue. It's wrong and annoying if I pay attention to Joe Football Player because he's an awesome player, but in every media appearance and all over his social media he is disrespecting the government and pushing a divisive and unequal agenda. It's not what he's paid to do. Not saying he/she/it can't disagree with things, but taking advantage of a national stage for political statements is wrong. It would be different if they got out and did something about their cause, but the vast majority of them don't. You rarely hear about these athletes getting up in arms about atrocities around the world, natural disasters (aside from insinuating trump influences hurricanes), or just generally using their national/global attention to rally some good. Mostly what you see is distant bitching hoping that readers will be the change for them. That is cowardice.
I personally would rather go and watch a NBA game than any other sport other than a good college football game. Much more exciting and some incredible talent. If I didn’t like a player based on their political views I wouldn’t like many. The reality is that most black players don’t like Trump or the republicans views. I tend to ignore it although it does get a little absurd at times. But it’s not changing anytime soon
Yeah because Lebron isn't helping to open a school in Akron for 3rd and 4th graders.
Because you or I do t consume the news about what some of these guys are doing doesn't mean they aren't doing anything. Just stick to you don't want to hear it, stop watching it and your life will improve from your perspective.
Are 3rd and 4th graders what we were talking about? Bc I swore the OP was about bitching and whining about President Trump. No duh many of these people are doing good things, but is that what is all over their social media? Is that what is all over the news and SportsCenter? Is that what all their supporters and fans are talking about? Is that what these guys and girls are talking about in their team and sport interviews? Their opinion on politics and their donations to charity are not the issue. Their exploitation of their attention to push a political agenda is the issue.
Not saying it isn't nice he is doing that, but every professional sports player has a charity, it's one heck of a write off on income tax.
Exploitation? Popular/famous people, entertainers or otherwise, have an advantage in terms of audience size. Why is it exploitation? It comes with the territory. Does a person have to be an elected official to publicly express a political opinion? Now if the mass of followers of said famous/popular person give that opinion weight based on nothing more than the identity of the opinionator, that's on them!
I'm still trying to figure out why it's news when an athlete expresses their opinion on politics. Although they should be happy with the new tax plan.
Matt,
What response did you think you would get? A Southern Miss board on National Signing Day and this thread has the most attention. Sad and pathetic.
