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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/04/sochi-olympics-athletes-must-speak-up
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| Athletes in Sochi must speak up about Russia's intolerance. I did it in the NFL | Athletes in Sochi must speak up about Russia's intolerance. I did it in the NFL |
| (8 months later) | |
| The Olympic Games in Sochi begin Friday. Controversy and doubt swirl around these games, this abysmal excuse of "Olympic Spirit" we seem determined to celebrate this year, despite all the hate and stupidity and human rights violations they represent. Vladimir Putin, dictator of Russia in all but name, appears content to ignore the lessons of history – namely, that you cannot oppress a group of your own citizenry forever without them eventually rising up against you. Unfortunately, the corporate sponsors of the games appear content to ignore it along with him. | The Olympic Games in Sochi begin Friday. Controversy and doubt swirl around these games, this abysmal excuse of "Olympic Spirit" we seem determined to celebrate this year, despite all the hate and stupidity and human rights violations they represent. Vladimir Putin, dictator of Russia in all but name, appears content to ignore the lessons of history – namely, that you cannot oppress a group of your own citizenry forever without them eventually rising up against you. Unfortunately, the corporate sponsors of the games appear content to ignore it along with him. |
| "Today's refreshing anti-gay beating brought to you by Coca-Cola!" | "Today's refreshing anti-gay beating brought to you by Coca-Cola!" |
| "Visa goes everywhere you want to be, and takes you places you don't want to be, like a gulag in Siberia if you support LBGTQ rights!" | "Visa goes everywhere you want to be, and takes you places you don't want to be, like a gulag in Siberia if you support LBGTQ rights!" |
| "Watch all the colors of the action on your Panasonic or Samsung TV, but please don't ask us about rainbow flags!" | "Watch all the colors of the action on your Panasonic or Samsung TV, but please don't ask us about rainbow flags!" |
| "GE, we don't just make your washers and dryers, we also wash our hands of the truth about bigotry and ignorance!" | "GE, we don't just make your washers and dryers, we also wash our hands of the truth about bigotry and ignorance!" |
| The International Olympic Committee (IOC), chief benefactor of these big money sponsors, has determined that any athlete speaking out in "accredited areas" against the human rights violations occurring in Russia right now will be found in violation of the Olympic Charter, banned from the games, and stripped of any medals. Corporate sponsorships, the pot of gold at the end of the Olympic rainbow, will disappear. A lifetime spent preparing, training, hour after agonizing hour, will have been for naught if an athlete dares to make a political statement at the wrong time about political events happening in a politicized Olympics; politicized in no small part by the IOC refusing to uphold their own charter when it applies to themselves. | The International Olympic Committee (IOC), chief benefactor of these big money sponsors, has determined that any athlete speaking out in "accredited areas" against the human rights violations occurring in Russia right now will be found in violation of the Olympic Charter, banned from the games, and stripped of any medals. Corporate sponsorships, the pot of gold at the end of the Olympic rainbow, will disappear. A lifetime spent preparing, training, hour after agonizing hour, will have been for naught if an athlete dares to make a political statement at the wrong time about political events happening in a politicized Olympics; politicized in no small part by the IOC refusing to uphold their own charter when it applies to themselves. |
| How can the IOC get away with this blatant disregard of their own rules? Easy. The IOC has what Olympic athletes want. Money. Power. Fame. | How can the IOC get away with this blatant disregard of their own rules? Easy. The IOC has what Olympic athletes want. Money. Power. Fame. |
| I've been famous. As a professional athlete, even as a lowly punter, it comes with the territory. People you'll never meet know your name, they know your stats, they know your family and your college career and they care. That information matters to them. I played on a team that they loved, and by association, they loved me too. | I've been famous. As a professional athlete, even as a lowly punter, it comes with the territory. People you'll never meet know your name, they know your stats, they know your family and your college career and they care. That information matters to them. I played on a team that they loved, and by association, they loved me too. |
| I've had money. Playing eight years in the NFL means I've made close to what a good doctor will make in his or her lifetime, and I've tried to be smart with it. Another eight years would have meant never having to worry about money again, but sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to. Sometimes there's a cost to doing what's right. | I've had money. Playing eight years in the NFL means I've made close to what a good doctor will make in his or her lifetime, and I've tried to be smart with it. Another eight years would have meant never having to worry about money again, but sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to. Sometimes there's a cost to doing what's right. |
| I had power, a platform. Rightly or wrongly, our society regards athletes as role models, people to look up to, to emulate. For most of my career, I didn't use my platform for much. I was content to stay silent and collect my paychecks. Status quo, job security, keeping the family fed, etc. I did a few local radio shows in Minnesota, gave the local sports writers some interesting quotes on slow news days, and kept my head down. Safer that way. Sure, I talked about important issues with my friends and family, but I never really took it public. | I had power, a platform. Rightly or wrongly, our society regards athletes as role models, people to look up to, to emulate. For most of my career, I didn't use my platform for much. I was content to stay silent and collect my paychecks. Status quo, job security, keeping the family fed, etc. I did a few local radio shows in Minnesota, gave the local sports writers some interesting quotes on slow news days, and kept my head down. Safer that way. Sure, I talked about important issues with my friends and family, but I never really took it public. |
| Then, one day, I decided to use my platform. I decided to speak up for those whose rights were being trampled, to actually use the position society gifted me to say something meaningful, something other than sports cliches. I wrote a letter about gay rights that went viral. I gave interviews and talked to anyone who would listen, and generally acted contrary to all accepted current day wisdom on athletes and the corporate environment we live in where everyone buys Michael Jordan's sneakers, even Republicans (as the saying goes). | Then, one day, I decided to use my platform. I decided to speak up for those whose rights were being trampled, to actually use the position society gifted me to say something meaningful, something other than sports cliches. I wrote a letter about gay rights that went viral. I gave interviews and talked to anyone who would listen, and generally acted contrary to all accepted current day wisdom on athletes and the corporate environment we live in where everyone buys Michael Jordan's sneakers, even Republicans (as the saying goes). |
| I decided to stand up for those who needed help, because they asked me to, and because it was the right thing to do. I knew it could cost me my job, my career, and I didn't care (OK, I cared a little bit, but I did it anyway), because if I didn't speak up for someone when they asked me to, how could I expect the same in return? | I decided to stand up for those who needed help, because they asked me to, and because it was the right thing to do. I knew it could cost me my job, my career, and I didn't care (OK, I cared a little bit, but I did it anyway), because if I didn't speak up for someone when they asked me to, how could I expect the same in return? |
| The result? I lost my job, one of the most highly sought after jobs in the world, professional athlete in the NFL, for speaking out on LBGTQ rights. I probably lost some friends, people I've known for almost a decade, for speaking out on LBGTQ rights. I lost security at home – my wife and I wondering what the future will bring now that our world has changed, the world we've known for almost our entire lives together – for speaking out on LBGTQ rights. | The result? I lost my job, one of the most highly sought after jobs in the world, professional athlete in the NFL, for speaking out on LBGTQ rights. I probably lost some friends, people I've known for almost a decade, for speaking out on LBGTQ rights. I lost security at home – my wife and I wondering what the future will bring now that our world has changed, the world we've known for almost our entire lives together – for speaking out on LBGTQ rights. |
| I lost what most people think defines someone as a person (ie job security and money), but knowing how it would turn out, knowing the cost, I wouldn't do it any other way, not for all the gold in the world. | I lost what most people think defines someone as a person (ie job security and money), but knowing how it would turn out, knowing the cost, I wouldn't do it any other way, not for all the gold in the world. |
| What is the true price of fame? The price of fame is what you risk when you have the platform. As an athlete, a role model for society, people listen to you. As an athlete, when you make a statement, that statement is heard, no matter what that statement is. Speak up for LBGTQ rights, for human rights, for empathy? The world will pay attention, and take notice. Stay silent, keep your head down, count the money and endorsements? The world will pay attention, and take notice. Either way, you're the one who has to live with what you did or didn't do. | |
| I hope that athletes speak out at Sochi on LBGTQ issues, even knowing the possible risks that await them. | I hope that athletes speak out at Sochi on LBGTQ issues, even knowing the possible risks that await them. |
| I know that it could cost them their livelihoods, their careers, everything they've worked towards. I know that it can lead to recriminations, harsh words from a public who just wants their entertainment, no matter how much blood it's packaged in. I know that it's one of the hardest steps a person can take, and that there is no guarantee of a reward at the end, other than knowing you did the right thing at the right time with nothing to show for it but angry tweets and emails tempered by the messages of support and affection from those in whose lives you made a difference, those currently being abused by the oppressive and ignorant. | I know that it could cost them their livelihoods, their careers, everything they've worked towards. I know that it can lead to recriminations, harsh words from a public who just wants their entertainment, no matter how much blood it's packaged in. I know that it's one of the hardest steps a person can take, and that there is no guarantee of a reward at the end, other than knowing you did the right thing at the right time with nothing to show for it but angry tweets and emails tempered by the messages of support and affection from those in whose lives you made a difference, those currently being abused by the oppressive and ignorant. |
| I know that the public should be boycotting those same corporate sponsors propping up a government built on fear, and the denial of freedom. I know that enough angry customers means those with money will understand that some things (like intolerance) will not be tolerated. I know that a business that doesn't understand long term consequences will always lead society in a negative direction, because profiting off the now means ignoring the costs of the future. | I know that the public should be boycotting those same corporate sponsors propping up a government built on fear, and the denial of freedom. I know that enough angry customers means those with money will understand that some things (like intolerance) will not be tolerated. I know that a business that doesn't understand long term consequences will always lead society in a negative direction, because profiting off the now means ignoring the costs of the future. |
| I know that if we keep perpetuating the same cycle of violence and oppression, we'll keep ending up in the same place we always land, the smoldering ashes of what was once a thriving civilization, and that goes for us in the United States just as much as it does for those in Russia. Remember Guantánamo? We have issues here, too, as much as we'd like to convince ourselves otherwise. There'd be plenty to protest at an American Olympics, make no mistake. | I know that if we keep perpetuating the same cycle of violence and oppression, we'll keep ending up in the same place we always land, the smoldering ashes of what was once a thriving civilization, and that goes for us in the United States just as much as it does for those in Russia. Remember Guantánamo? We have issues here, too, as much as we'd like to convince ourselves otherwise. There'd be plenty to protest at an American Olympics, make no mistake. |
| Athletes in Sochi, I know that you risk it all to speak up, to draw attention to the miserable things happening there right now. I won't blame or fault you if you can't, or won't speak out. I absolutely know that it will cost you, and cost you dearly. We're all human, after all, and we all have families to feed. | Athletes in Sochi, I know that you risk it all to speak up, to draw attention to the miserable things happening there right now. I won't blame or fault you if you can't, or won't speak out. I absolutely know that it will cost you, and cost you dearly. We're all human, after all, and we all have families to feed. |
| But I will tell you this – I've been there, I've walked that path, and though it's a rocky, and frankly, terrifying one, know that there's no amount of money in the world that can buy a step there. There's no medal to hang around your neck that signals you did the right thing, no corporate endorsement to pay your bills and keep you secure in the future. If you walk that path, there are always consequences. But when you walk it, you do not walk alone. You may never know the people whose lives you change, but the change will happen nonetheless. | But I will tell you this – I've been there, I've walked that path, and though it's a rocky, and frankly, terrifying one, know that there's no amount of money in the world that can buy a step there. There's no medal to hang around your neck that signals you did the right thing, no corporate endorsement to pay your bills and keep you secure in the future. If you walk that path, there are always consequences. But when you walk it, you do not walk alone. You may never know the people whose lives you change, but the change will happen nonetheless. |
| What is the true price of fame? | What is the true price of fame? |
| The price of fame is being a role model, whether you like it or not, and people are always watching. | The price of fame is being a role model, whether you like it or not, and people are always watching. |
| The world is watching. The platform is yours. | The world is watching. The platform is yours. |