Politics and Sports—Are They the Perfect Match?

By Matt Curtis

In a year where there have been little to no fans in stadiums and arenas at sporting events, one would assume that the viewership and stream numbers would skyrocket. Surprisingly, the opposite effect has happened. The viewership has been up, but not nearly as much as recent years.

It is no secret that this year has been filled with crazy political events. One possible culprit for this low stream numbers could be the intertwining of political views and action into the world of sports. The recent infiltration of politics into sports first began with Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem in August 2016. It has since then grown into the greater sense of voice within the professional athlete community that we have seen today.

Although spectators have complained that they don’t want to mix politics and sports because they are looking for an escape from these anxiety-ridden social and political strifes. Many players don’t think they can say ”enough is enough” to social injustice. This is why they are using their platform to promote their opinions.

While many athletes would argue that they are not concerned about viewership, but rather the issues at hand. However, the leagues and the owners would disagree as they want to keep their fan base but also their money. But the decline in numbers is an important glimpse into the pulse of our society. There is dissent and this was evident during the first game of the NFL season where during a moment of silence for the Black Lives Matter movement, some of the Chief's fans began to boo the players kneeling on the field.

As the .viewership of the NFL season continued to decline, it was evident that the feeling of the fans that day was echoed throughout the NFL fan base. According to Forbes, the 2020 regular season averaged 15.4 million viewers, a 7% decline from the previous regular season. Many analysts made the same connection to the historically low viewership of the finale of the NBA season. This of course being when the NBA players and organization pushed their political agenda and justice views heavily during games.

The question becomes evident that in the interest of the major sports leagues of this country, should politics be completely left out of sports broadcasts? Sixty-nine students were polled and of those students 75% of them answered “no” when asked if politics should be woven into sports broadcasts. Many cited that sports are a way for them to get away from politics. A few stated that while they believe politics should not be included in sports broadcasts, there are some events and issues that become too large to keep out.

The remaining 25% answered “yes” that politics should be included in sports although, politics shouldn’t be the focus of a broadcast, they are still relevant because of the massive scale they're on. One junior stated, “Sports is widely viewed by almost everyone in America and it is a good way to get major political agendas across and get the major events known.”

This past year, many athletes more than ever have stated their views and taken action to get their political agenda across. This too has come with discourse as major athletes like LeBron James speak out against what they feel is right or wrong. These athletes do walk on a thin line as seen with the disapproval and remarks made over Drew Brees’ comments.

The next question asked to high school students, was whether they wanted to hear the athletes and coaches’ views on politics? Seventy-one percent of people surveyed said they did not want to hear the athletes and coaches' views on politics. As far as for the others who said that athletes should be able to speak about these issues, they stated that athletes have a platform and pedestal for a reason. Used correctly, athletes can change the tide of public opinion. However, the majority of people surveyed believe that there is a time and place for discourse on politics. It depends on the situation and magnitude of the current political climate.

This same pattern continued into the results of the next question, which asked whether players and coaches should be allowed to speak on political events during games or interviews? There has been the age-old discussion of whether leagues can fine or restrict what players are allowed to say on air during games. Once again, the consensus with the students surveyed was that it depends on the situation. Just under 49% of the students surveyed stated that there is a time where it is valuable that athletes use this platform to spread their opinion. While there was still a significant number of students who answered straight up “Never.”

The final question and possibly the most thought provoking for the people who took the survey asked if athletes and coaches affect their political viewpoints? The results favored heavily for the option of “No” however one student brought up a great point. Junior Leo Hawke stated, “I look up to athletes so subconsciously I feel like they have to influence me at least a little bit.” This is true for a lot of people because growing up many kids have dreams of playing pro sports and so many others follow these athletes so closely that what they say affects them. Even though one might say it doesn't, what their favorite athlete posts can still affect one’s own opinions.

A large majority of sports viewership is teenagers, and this questionnaire can be an important insight as far as the discovery of a reason for why viewership is so low. Especially in a time where viewership should be even higher than normal.

As challenging as these issues are, where the social, political, and cultural discourse belongs is equally taxing. Like the games themselves, maybe there just needs to be a good referee to find the common ground.