Do Athletes Have The Freedom To Take A Political Stand On Social Issues In Sports

During this last election cycle, anytime one would turn on any news they would hear a new story of the growing tensions between the opposing sides. This growing tension did not only apply to tension growing between the two major political parties but to the opposing sides taken on social injustice issues happening all over the country, i.e. police brutality, sexual and gender equality, and religious tolerance. This ever growing tension has caused numerous athletes throughout the world of sports entertainment to take it upon themselves to use their platform as a device to shed more light as well as show their support for different movements to combat the ever-growing social injustices seen throughout the news. These actions have sparked a debate on whether athletes have the freedom to take a political stand on social issues such as race and/or gender issues within
When forming my opinion on this debate, I found it difficult to give a black and white, this side that side answer. I found myself breaking the entire debate into smaller issues in order to come to a conclusion. That conclusion is that in my opinion athletes have the freedom to take political stances on any issue they choose but because of their chosen profession there can be limitations to this freedom during which times they are expected to preform their athletic duties.
In this debate on the athlete’s rights there are counterclaims to my opinion. The main counterclaim to my previous stated opinion is that when athletes take this political stance during game time, whether it is kneeling during the national anthem or wearing a political statement shirt while warming up, it takes some entertainment away from the game and ruins the atmosphere surrounding the game. I understand where one can claim that when a player