Politics in Sports

    For a long time, ESPN has been dominating the sports world since it was founded in 1979, and their slogan "The Worldwide Leader in sports, was as accurate a slogan as any. In recent years however, ESPN has taken a turn and it is due in large part to one thing: politics.

ESPN's original logo in 1979

    I am as big a fan of the network as anyone, having watched their flagship program, SportsCenter every morning all the way through grade school and college. ESPN was the first, and for a long time, only 24-hour sports channel and it flourished for years as sports fans flocked to their televisions to watch sports coverage any time they wanted. Whether it was live games, highlights, coverage of late-breaking sports news or anything else in the sports world, ESPN was there. SportsCenter has embedded itself in popular culture, finding its way into movies and television. Many popular television shows, such as "King of Queens", "One Tree Hill", "The Office", "Friends", and many more casual dropped the name of the program or its network on multiple occasions, including one episode of CBS's "How I Met Your Mother", where the character of Barney Stinson, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris, directly parodied LeBron James' "The Decision" special, which aired on ESPN in the summer of 2010. The sitcom even went so far as to paraphrase James' famous "I'm taking my talents to South Beach" line. The was even a television show which was inspired directly by Sportscenter, titled "Sports Night", which aired on ABC from 1998-2000, where the main characters were employees at a fictional sports network.. Even a few ESPN personalities, such as Chris Berman, Dan Patrick and the late, great Stuart Scott became household names in America. All this goes to say that ESPN and its flagship program have become ingrained in our society.

Parody of "The Decision" on CBS's "How I Met Your Mother".

    Unfortunately, as of 2016, exclusively covering sports and being one of the leading networks in the world wasn't enough for the network. In this politically-charged climate, ESPN was urged to be relevant in an area where they didn't belong: politics. ESPN and its programming suddenly started weaving political views into our sports programming. From urging an analyst to not express his personal beliefs on-air to praising Colin Kaepernick as a "hero" for not standing for the national anthem, to advocating for gun control and firing a SportsCenter anchor because she was a conservative Christian, ESPN's far left view became more and more obvious.

    Regardless of their political leanings, loyal viewers of the network were turned off by the new priorities of the network.ESPN began to lose viewers by the truckload and, as a result ESPN was forced to make widespread layoffs to cover their losses. These firings included longtime personalities like John Clayton, Jay Crawford and Ed Werder. Those were just a few of more than 100 employees who lost their jobs as a direct result of lost viewership, which was largely attributed to the political pushing of the network.

    As you read this, you must know, that I am not here to bash the network. I, like many others still enjoy watching sporting events on their channels, but with the growing number of digital and streaming services available, there are other ways to watch live sporting events and other programming without going through the network.

Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016.

    The point of all this is to say that this isn't about politics, the left or the right, or money or ratings. This is about how there is no place for politics in sports. Sports fans don't care about political opinions while watching the NBA Finals, they don't want to hear an opinion on gun control while trying to enjoy the Home Run Derby. They came to watch the event and that's what they want to hear about. If we are honest with ourselves, we use sports as an escape. Life can be hard. Work can be stressful, school can be a pain, daily responsibilities can pile up. Sports exist to give us something to cheer for, to rally behind. Watching a game and rooting for your favorite team can be a way to relax after a long day or escape from the other stresses of life, if only temporarily. If we do this to relax and in return are bombarded with the same unwanted political opinions that we get from our co-workers friends and nosy neighbors, then we can''t use it to relax and what good is it?

    In October 2016, the Chicago Cubs were playing in the World Series for the first time since 1945 and all eyes were on them. This was in the midst of a polarizing Presidential election, that in the eyes of many, would produce no real"winner". The political climate was putting everyone on edge. We need the Cubs, we needed that World Series. We needed that championship. It was a moment of pure joy when we needed it most. At the exact right moment, right on cue, the Cubs ended their curse. The sports world had perfect timing in a world that does far from the same.

    We need sports to escape from the problems of the world, not to add to them. If you want to hear political opinions, turn to one of the many channels that provide them. If you want to give political opinions, I'm sure they're hiring. But if, when you watch sports, you want to do a crazy thing like just watch sports, ESPN needs to be there for that-and only that.