Professional sports players deserve to speak about whatever they want such as DeMar DeRosen speaking out about depression and Lebron James talking about police brutality. These players are being paid to play sports, as long as they continue to due their job there’s no reason they can’t speak about controversial issues. They have the platform and the voice to make change and if they chose to act on issues they feel are important they have the right to do so.
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I think national sports leagues should let all players have a voice in political and social problems around the world. They have voices just like us and they should not be silenced just because they are more well known than most people. Besides, if they are more well known, they can preach a message to a larger crowd. They inspire many with their talents on the fields or courts but they inspire more with their voice on social and political problems. Their support and care they show to their community inspires average people like me to care more about the community I live in. They are constantly on the national stages so why cant they convey their opinions about the world?
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I believe national sports leagues should allow political speech as a right. Sports players should be aloud to protest too because they have opinions and moral beliefs just like us. When they protest they are always non-violent acts that shine a light on problems in society most don’t know about. They inspire millions of people with their athletic ability, but they inspire more with the support they show to the communities facing these problems. These players are constantly on world wide venues, so why shouldn’t they share what they believe?
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My opinion on this topic is just let the players believe in things ya know. The players in the N.B.A and they are human just like all of us so they should protest or wear things that is happening that is affecting their community like for instance LeBron wearing a shirt that has a connection to the young African American who died in 2014. I say let the players protest all they want maybe some good will come out of all this stuff about the police being too brutal. Maybe our government will make laws about this issue in our country of the United States of America.
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Personally, I have mixed feelings about sports players talking about their opinion. I feel like it is great that they use their platform to talk to the people. On the other hand though, I feel like the players are being paid to play sports, not give their take on political issues. The N.F.L and the N.B.A are on the same track about players using their voice. Colin Kaepernick, when he was in the league, used to take a knee during the National Anthem to raise awareness towards racism. He is no longer in the league, making other players scared to voice their opinions. The N.B.A has not done anything like that because they have stricter rules.
I find it interesting when people have problems with sports players speaking out of social issues, predominantly black sports players. People love watching black bodies play sports because they are fast and strong, but don’t actually care about black people. They want black people to be puppets for them and play their games but keep their mouth shuts. I do not believe it is anything short of racism. I am happy the NBA has started to see more of its players speak out and stand up for what is right.
I believe that if any professional athletes want to speak out about public issues, they should do it as much as they want. The easiest way to get through to the youth about political issues is for NBA players to speak on it. The youth are our future and they should see the mistakes that are being made today so NBA players should definitely talk about any controversial and political subject. Everyone wants their rights, but no one wants the public community to have their rights. So I say, do what you feel what you have to do.
Recently, there has been debate over whether players should be expressing their personal views across a platform meant for everyone, regardless of their beliefs. Some opposed to this feel that professional sports have somehow been poisoned by the discussion of social and political issues. Whether or not you believe in political speech as a right for players, it is hard to deny the effect it has had. We have a responsibility to speak out against injustice wherever we see it. Professional athletes are no different. We cannot deny that there are issues plaguing society that are worthy of our attention. Athletes have been able to draw attention to and incite discussion over these issues through their public protests.
N.B.A players have large influence on people and I believe that this brings us back to the prompt of whether celebrities should speak on politics. It’s possible that many athletes will not continue to speak out because they put their job at risk. Many employers won’t hire people because of their views on politics especially famous athletes.
The people that are the most woke to society are just the people saying what they’re thinking regardless of their knowledge that people won’t like it. I don’t get why them speaking out would be a negative thing.
Lately these are the things many people want to know anyways and are frequently asked in Q&A’s. “What’s your take on” or ”what’s your response to” etc.
Politics have become a large part of people’s lives and are discussed often and have become unavoidable and I don’t see why N.B.A or N.F.L players can’t express their opinions about current events that may or may not affect them and their families. They are US citizens and freedom of speech is granted to them as well as those who have opposing opinions.
Professional athletes are like any other citizen of the United States of America so I don’t see why they should all have the right to express their political and social views on the world. They shouldn’t be forced to stay silent for the comfort of the viewers. Although they should be responsible and careful with what they say because they have the power to influence a lot of young fans with their opinions. I can see that some athletes might take advantage of their influence and may get paid to express certain beliefs to their audience. Other than that I don’t see an issue with professional athletes expressing their political and social views. They’re more than just athletes who play a sport. They are Americans with different political and social views just like any of us. Their views are just as important as ours and shouldn’t be treated as less important or more important.
The right to free speech falls upon all US citizens, including the members of the N.B.A. We fought as an unit for freedom from oppression, and the right to freely express our beliefs. The expectation for the N.B.A to keep their opinions silent, takes us as an American people backwards. Although all sport leagues should follow the N.B.A in allowing players to freely express their political speech, a.k.a exercise their rights as citizens, industries such as the N.F.L have taken a different stance. The N.F.L seems to believe if they allow their members to have a voice in certain arguments, it will led to things such as bad publicity. However, becoming known as a field that silences its employees all to save face, paints an unsavory image on its own.
The NBA has embraced the rights of Americans to freely speak their opinions on almost any topic. Many athletes have shared their political opinions either negative or positive and since they have such a large platform to make these comments on there are many different opinions on what they say. The problem with this is that many athletes are not very well educated as the chose to take the next step and join the professional league instead of finishing school and although many of these people did not finish school or even take school seriously while they are there. Now although some athletes may be well educate dor do exceptionally well in school in general it is quite uncommon among professional athletes which is why there should be some control over the opinions they spread.
In my view, what these professional athletes are doing is proving that they don’t necessarily need a college education to be able to have reasonable views on societal issues in America. For example, LeBron James was drafted to the NBA right out of high school around 16 years ago, yet recently he has used his platform as one of the most widely-regarded athletes in the world and embraced his popularity by speaking out on social topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement and his personal views on President Trump which ignited media attention and allowed his young fans to be influenced by his opinions. This proves that a man who did not have a college degree STILL was able to involve himself in societal topics and he gained even more respect and popularity- specifically after his rebuttal to a news anchor on the FOX News network who said James should simply “Shut up and dribble” and James fired back by saying he is “More than an athlete and will not shut up and dribble” and even launching a program on ESPN called “More than an Athlete”. I think the NFL is not as outspoken on these issues because of their national popularity and because of their past issues such as with Colin Kaepernick and the backlash they received. However, the NBA is gaining more and more popularity and players are stating their opinions more and more which is enabling children to hear their role models’ opinions and help them shape their ideas for the political future of this nation.
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The Outspoken NBA: Professional athletes demonstrate how they’re own personal beliefs and morals reflect upon how they react to certain political issues that they believe must be addressed to better society and they’re own well being as individuals. Players put on specific personas to express themselves in manors that allow for people to notice and understand that professional athletes are human as well because they have their own feelings, emotions and beliefs as well. As role models to fans and others who watch the association, NBA players have proved that their own beliefs and morals come before they’re jobs from examples of players wearing shirts with political references and sitting out games because they know that world peace comes before basketball. The NBA has shown that players are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in even if it involves a certain consequence or may be alarming to the public. Therefore, professional athletes make it clear when something crosses the line and when it's time to take the initiative to take the necessary actions to resolve controversies.
After reading the picture prompt,"The Outspoken N.B.A" I think that N.B.A. and N.F.L. Players should have a political speech right for their players. I think this is good for them because as a U.S. Citizen, everyone should speak about their opinions and how they can make our county better.
Of course athletes should have a voice, and in America, they are free to express their opinion. Often though, it is an uneducated opinion. Let's not forget, the reason Mr. James (he's not my King) is a superstar athlete is that he did not attend college and leapt immediately into the pro ranks. His opinions should be considered for what they are: coming from a high-school graduate who is very wealthy and moves in the elite circles of wealth. He doesn't speak for the black community, poor people, working class, or smarter Americans. Let's listen to the smart people who perhaps cannot dribble or dunk, but have earned their knowledge and spent years "practicing" what they have learned. Those are the true role models to listen to. They know what they are talking about, while the professional ball players too often come across as... dumb. (see the recent Steph Curry, moon landing comments.)
Personally, I believe they should have political speech rights, because most professional athletes are seen as role models to many young fans. For the athletes to have the ability to speak out on political matters in the world today is important because it gives an example to the youth that follow them that no matter what you see your self doing in the future, no one can control what you think about politics in the world, especially when you have such a big platform like these players. LeBron James was recently told by a reporter to "shut up and dribble" which he did not believe was right. Although some people may feel that way about athletes, they do not have the right to tell these athletes to stop talking and focus on your job, because they aren't just speaking to these reporters interviewing them, they are speaking to millions of people that need that advice in their life.
The political and social views of athletes should be of value just as much as any other person. They are, after all only human, just as everyone else. The National basketball association, has been able to allow they’re players to speak and display they’re political and social justice views very fairly over the past several years. They allow them to speak without restriction. Unlike some of the other major sports leagues. They maintain all they’re rights to express themselves. Unlike the NFL the NBA has not been on heavy scrutiny about their handling of players who express their political views publicly.