Yesterday I was watching an ESPN Outside the Lines report on Athletes and Activism. Topics like this are interesting to me because I work in Athletics and I have a minor in Sports Psychology. I took my courses from Dr. Ralph Vernacchia, who has worked with a lot of Olympic Track & Field teams over the years.
This is a timely report because the Olympics are about to start, and that means amateur athletes will be put on a world stage. They live in the limelight, so athletes sometimes feel (or have people telling them) it's their duty to "have a voice." This report was mainly about NBA athletes using this platform to speak out on issues like Darfur, specifically China's reported involvement in human rights violations. If you're interested, you can find the video here: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/outside-the-lines-athletes-and-activism/3013807672
I think it's healthy for athletes to speak out when they have a legitimate concern about world affairs. I do, however, think it can be taken too far, and after a while it becomes apparent that they are not famous because of their political beliefs - they're famous because of their athleticism, and sometimes it should just stay that way. We'll see, when Charles Barkeley runs for Governor of Alabama!!
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