# Will politics destroy sports? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 6, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176 "2020-06-06T22:58:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankees_1996_Champs)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/1 "2020-06-06T22:58:36Z")
The whole Drew Brees thing over the national anthem and his opinion causing controversy shows that politics will probably destroy sports. That is Brees’ opinion. Why does the entire football team have to agree on politics in a locker room? Where is the creative thought in that? Everyone bobbling their heads agreeing on the same topic? The national anthem should not even be involved in sports. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/2 "2020-06-06T23:11:02Z")
I’d say yes, only in the sense that politics destroys everything. Which is a totally hyperbolic point of view. In other words, really? You think anything can destroy all of sports? Not just the multi billion dollar professional American sports, but the whole idea of sports? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/3 "2020-06-06T23:18:01Z")
No ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/4 "2020-06-06T23:44:01Z")
As long as people are willing to pay to see pro sports, someone will put on professional sporting events for them. That isn’t ending anytime soon no matter what political issues come up. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/5 "2020-06-06T23:53:39Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > That is Brees’ opinion. Why does the entire football team have to agree on politics in a locker room? Where is the creative thought in that? Everyone bobbling their heads agreeing on the same topic? I think this is the point people are making. For the last few years, NFL athletes have been expressing a political opinion and have been widely condemned by conservatives for supposedly introducing politics into football. And the league has not supported these players Now Drew Brees expresses his political opinion and conservatives are saying he has a right to say what he thinks. This creates the impression that conservatives only defend freedom of speech when it’s conservative freedom of speech and condemn the expression of any views they don’t agree with. The conservatives are saying everyone has to agree on politics - they all have to be conservative. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/6 "2020-06-07T00:01:07Z")
If Jackie Robinson didn’t destroy sports, I don’t think Drew Brees will even register. Brees won’t even be a footnote to a footnote. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/7 "2020-06-07T00:15:36Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I’d say yes, only in the sense that politics destroys everything. Only in the US, where politics is team ball, and if someone who agrees with you on almost everything disagrees with you about one little thing they are now your enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/8 "2020-06-07T01:34:49Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > If Jackie Robinson didn’t destroy sports, I don’t think Drew Brees will even register. Brees won’t even be a footnote to a footnote. Thank you. Also Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Sports will survive. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/9 "2020-06-07T03:43:23Z")
wasn’t curt flood supposed to of destroyed sports decades ago? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/10 "2020-06-07T06:22:28Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > The whole Drew Brees thing over the national anthem and his opinion causing controversy shows that politics will probably destroy sports. > > That is Brees’ opinion. Why does the entire football team have to agree on politics in a locker room? Where is the creative thought in that? Everyone bobbling their heads agreeing on the same topic? > > The national anthem should not even be involved in sports. > > What do you think? What do I think? I think you need to do some research – politics in sports is hardly anything new. That’s what I think. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/11 "2020-06-07T08:02:44Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Only in the US, where politics is team ball, and if someone who agrees with you on almost everything disagrees with you about one little thing they are now your enemy. It makes a good rivalry, but the Old Firm is a rather particular political rivalry. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/12 "2020-06-07T08:36:36Z")
I really don’t think the vast majority of fans care about the national anthem one way or the other. The issue would have died if Trump and Pence hadn’t used it as a political football (pun intended) a couple years ago. It has been interesting to see the evolution of the hyper patriotism in sports since 9/11. Perhaps this next round of protests will finally reverse the insane patriotism. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/13 "2020-06-07T19:34:56Z")
In 532, riots over chariot racing broke out in Constantinople and almost led to Emperor Justinian being overthrown. He eventually regained control using force and executed a number of Senators for treason. I think that sports will continue to survive being involved in politics. > **[Nika riots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots)** > > The Nika riots (Greek: Στάσις τοῦ Νίκα, romanized: Stásis toû Níka), Nika revolt or Nika sedition took place against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in Constantinople over the course of a week in 532 AD. They are often regarded as the most violent riots in the city's history, with nearly half of Constantinople being burned or destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed. > The ancient Roman and Byzantine empires had well-developed associations, known as demes, which supported the different facti... ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/14 "2020-06-08T14:23:35Z")
If athletes, coaches and commentators saying controversial and/or stupid things could destroy sports, we’d long ago have been condemned to visiting museums and attending the opera. Drew Brees’ comments and apology will be a very minor footnote to his career. The world will even forgive Don Cherry sooner or later. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/15 "2020-06-08T14:27:04Z")
I have bad news for you about opera singers. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/16 "2020-06-08T21:03:59Z")
Did Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier break baseball? (I see post #6 has made the point already!) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/17 "2020-06-08T22:55:18Z")
> [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](#): > > Why does the entire football team have to agree on politics in a locker room? Where is the creative thought in that? Everyone bobbling their heads agreeing on the same topic? I’m sorry, but I missed where someone said that everyone had to agree with each other. They do not have to agree. And they do not have to like each other. They just have to play at a high level. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/18 "2020-06-18T06:12:04Z")
About ten years ago I remember reading the NFL was banning the N-word on the field supposedly because white players were constantly using it against black players, but who would do that in a league that’s 70% black? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-politics-destroy-sports/855176/19 "2020-06-18T22:35:54Z")
I think that as America collapses, so too do its institutions, including sports. It’s a symptom of the greater rot in the country.