Thread by @PeteOlusoga

Was supposed to do a thing yesterday, but ended up not being able to do it. But then I wrote down some of the things I would have probably said....

Sport and politics have always been deeply intertwined. Sport has, and continues to be, a powerful vehicle for social change.
1/?

Athletes have played no small part in keeping the conversation about racism and racial inequality fixed at the front of our minds amid the distractions - and make no mistake, they are just that - of Fawlty Towers, toppling statues, and Rule Britannia.
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Millions tuned in to see the Premier League and the NBA as sport finally made its comeback. And those millions were to be reminded, night after night, through quiet, peaceful protests and messages on shirts, that Black Lives still Matter and that we haven't forgotten about that.

But sure, sport and politics don't mix.

We've seen athlete protests before and we've seen athletes torn down, vilified, and ostracised for standing up for what they believe in and fighting for social justice.
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theguardian.com/sport/2020/jul…

Colin Kaepernick, Ariyana Smith, Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, Toni Smith, Craig Hodges, Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Peter Norman...
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Oddly enough, female athletes who speak out aren't treated the same way as male athletes. But that's only because women's sport (although I believe women just call it 'sport') isn't given anywhere near the attention it deserves...
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So their protests often fly under the radar. They are perhpas safer from criticism, yes, but their message is often lost. We must pay more attention.
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But these athletes, men and women, have put themselves in the firing line, stuck their heads above the parapet, put their necks on the line, all of which seem like entirely inappropriate metaphors, given the circumstances.
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It's easy to tear down a lone voice. It’s easy to dismiss a single athlete as a troublemaker, as a loudmouth, someone you don't want to have around. What we're seeing now with the #WNBA and the #NBA and other sports, is something new.
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This is collective activism on an incredible and tremendously powerful scale.
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These athletes (and coaches) have decided for anyone who still isn't sure, that what's happening right now in our society is more important than who's best at putting a ball through a hoop.
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They have decided, for anyone who is still on the fence, that putting an end to the shooting and killing of unarmed Black men and women by the police takes precedence over no-look passes and buzzer-beaters.
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They have decided, for anyone who still doesn’t get it, that how on earth 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse can stroll past the police, wielding an AR-15 after just killing 2 people, and then go home to bed...
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... while 12-year-old Tamir Rice is shot and killed by police before they even stopped their patrol car for playing with a toy gun, is a more important conversation to have than who should win dunk of the night.
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These athletes and their coaches, have come together and have used their platform to show us where our priorities should be right now.

That's what those of us with a platform are supposed to do with it.

15/15.