Thinking outside the lines

Political opinions are not out of bounds for professional athletes

Eric Boose / Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

On Monday, the World Series champion Washington Nationals visited the White House. At least, most of them did. Nationals relief pitcher Sean Doolittle was notably absent from the visit, having declined the invitation on Friday. 

Speaking to The Washington Post, Doolittle said, “At the end of the day, as much as I wanted to be there with my teammates and share that experience with my teammates, I can’t do it.” Doolittle explained that he made his decision because of the multitude of issues he takes with the president’s rhetoric. Doolittle and his wife are actively involved in their communities, and the Doolittle family has close ties to many groups Trump has attacked.

“My wife and I stand for inclusion and acceptance,” Doolittle said. “We’ve done work with refugees, people that come from, you know, the ‘s—hole countries.’” Doolittle’s comment was in reference to Trump’s comments about Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries from January 2018. 

“I have a brother-in-law who has autism, and (Trump) is a guy that mocked a disabled reporter,” Doolittle explained further. “How would I explain that to him that I hung out with somebody who mocked the way that he talked or the way that he moves his hands? I can’t get past that stuff.” To put it simply, Doolittle said, “I don’t want to hang out with somebody who talks like that.”

Following his decision, Doolittle was told by swarms of Twitter users that he should “respect the office of the president” and that he should “stick to sports.”

That second comment, the suggestion that athletes should “stick to sports,” has become increasingly common since the 2016 election. Doolittle is not the first to hear it, nor will he be the last. It has become so common, in fact, that any athlete making any statement about anything other than sports is almost inevitably followed by at least a handful of people suggesting they stick to sports. 

The suggestion that athletes stick to sports is as problematic as it is common. First, it implies that athletes are somehow not qualified to have opinions about things other than sports. Second, it is frequently used as a defense mechanism — delegitimizing someone’s opinion rather than taking the time and effort to process a different opinion. Finally, athletes have the power to do some real good off the field.

Athletes pay attention to and are involved with things other than sports every day. They have personal lives outside of their job, just like everyone else. They have families and friends other than their teammates. Doolittle’s choice to skip the Nationals’ White House visit was not because of his politics, although he did mention that he disagreed with many of the president’s policy proposals. No, Doolittle passed on the White House largely because of his family. Doolittle’s wife has two mothers, and he called his decision to skip the White House “an important part of allyship,” not only with his grandmothers-in-law, but with his autistic brother-in-law as well. 

However, even if Doolittle’s decision was purely political, he would still have a right to make it. No other profession is so frequently told to stay out of politics. Rarely, if ever, is someone told that they should just “stick to plumbing” or “stick to accounting.” The founding principles of this country assert that everyone has the right to their opinion on how the country is governed, at least in theory. Professional athletes have as much of a right to make political comments as the Twitter users telling them to stop. 

Whenever an athlete is told to stick to sports, it never seems to be a bipartisan notion. It seems that the only people telling someone to stay in their lane are people who disagree with them. This knee-jerk defensive reaction is understandable, but unproductive. When we tell someone to stick to sports or otherwise stay in their lane, we end the discussion. While that keeps our feelings intact and protects us from potentially uncomfortable situations, it also keeps us from having those necessary conversations. 

At this point, it is worth mentioning Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki. Unlike Doolittle, Suzuki attended the White House visit. While there, Suzuki wore a “Make America Great Again” hat. Suzuki, like Doolittle, has every right to his political opinion. Moreover, we cannot be selective in who gets to speak out. Every athlete gets to share their opinions, whether we agree with them or not.

The intense political polarization in this country is well-documented, and it will not go away if we simply disregard or seek to silence people who disagree with us. At some point, we have to be willing to at least try to understand opinions other than our own.

A good deal of athletes are involved in things other than sports beyond just giving their opinions. Houston Texans star J.J. Watt was never told to stick to sports when he was helping the city recover from Hurricane Harvey. Former Philadelphia Eagles player Chris Long was not told to stick to sports when he donated his salary to charity. Doolittle has never been told to stick to sports while working with military veterans and families. In fact, Doolittle received the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award for that work. 

Athletes doing charitable work off the field is nothing new, nor is it anything condemned. Multiple leagues, including the National Football League and Major League Baseball, have major awards for players who make the biggest impacts on their community. Why is charitable work never met with the suggestion that athletes stick to sports? Because charity is not controversial.

Frankly, if athletes truly did stick to sports, the world would be worse off. Professional athletes have some of the greatest power to do good, both in terms of finance and influence. Asking them to confine themselves to sports alone cuts off one of the greatest avenues for charitable work. 

There is no reason athletes should be expected to diminish their entire existence to only revolve around sports. Good things tend to happen when they go beyond that. Professional athletes have not, will not, and should not just stick to sports.