NIKE recently released a bold ad, one anchored on former NFL quarterback Colin Caepernick who started that practice of kneeling during the playing of the American national anthem as protest of how African Americans were treated in the US.
It’s a bold move from the sports company, and as expected some liked it, including vocal NBA star LeBron James while others, mostly Trump supporters, disliked it, including a moron who burnt his Nike shoes while wearing them. (He ended up in the hospital.)
That got me to thinking. What about in the Philippines? Will there be a company or a sports personality who’ll be bold enough to issue a political statement? Or a protest given the prevalent situation? Whenever sports and politics mix here, it’s always about one sports personality crossing over to politics—think Manny Pacquiao or Robert Jaworski.
We don’t have a LeBron James who’d boldly use his fame to push what he thinks is right. Our basketball stars owe their fame and fortune to owners, some of whom I’ve seen in the Bitter Old Man’s entourage abroad. Aside from that, some of our biggest stars supported the Old Man in 2016 and I guess, that means it would take something disastrous like them losing their jobs for them to get critical.
But before that. Do we need to mix sports and politics? The first time this was presented to me was when I disagreed with someone a few years ago when he said the Philippines shouldn’t play a friendly with Bahrain because in 2012, the country was mired in human rights issues. Sports and politics shouldn’t mix, I said. Both are different arenas and those who disagree in one are united in the other.
But that was six years ago. Now, everyone except sports personalities is speaking out. Well, everyone except famous sports personalities. Curiously, the people in sports who have been vocal about the issues in the country are women. I’ve seen some speak out against what the Bitter Old Man has been spewing out, especially when he belittled women.
The climate now is different. The athletes have access to any platform they can use if they want to speak out. Who will be the first to speak out? Abangan.
But let me recall a brief incident. Back in 2001, when the PBA’s Living Legend tried to join the Edsa crowd late in the game, he got booed, loudly. Why? Because the people then all knew he never did a thing nor issued any statement when he was needed.