Zlatan Should Shut His Mouth

Since the turn of the 20th century, athletes have been able to use their status as celebrities to push for social change. Jesse Owens combatted white supremacy in the 1936 “Hitler Olympics,” Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball in 1947 and Muhammad Ali denounced the Vietnam War and refused to answer to the draft in 1967. Over the last decade and a half with the advent of social media, athletes have participated in activism at a rate never seen before. One such athlete is LeBron James, who has done everything from being vocal during the Black Lives Matter movement, condemning Donald Trump and even founding his own “I Promise” school in Akron, Ohio, for at-risk youth. However, not everyone thinks that athletes should use their platform to speak out on social issues. Zlatan Ibrahimović, a Swedish-born soccer player who recently spent two years in the MLS playing in Los Angeles, thinks athletes should stick to playing sports and not get political. In a recent interview on Discovery+ Sport, Ibrahimović spoke out about athletes like James:

I like [LeBron] a lot and, I mean, he is phenomenal at what he is doing. But I don’t like when people have some kind of status and they go in and do politics at the same time [as] what they are doing. I mean, do what you’re good at, do the category you do. I play football because I’m the best in playing football. I don’t do politics. If I would be a political politician, I would do politics. That is the first mistake people do when they become famous and they come in a certain status. Stay out of it. Just do what you’re best at because it doesn’t look good. (Ibrahimović)

This is an outlandish claim by the soccer phenom. James faced similar criticism in 2018 from Laura Ingraham, a FOX News host, when she infamously exclaimed, “Shut up and dribble,” in response to James and fellow NBA star Kevin Durant speaking out about, among many things, then-President Donald Trump. Ingraham was called out for the implicit racism in her remarks and ended up pushing James even harder to continue using his platform for social change. Since then, LeBron has spearheaded multiple social justice campaigns through social media and in press conferences. Though James may be best known for dribbling a basketball, the influence he has had off the court has impacted lives in a far more meaningful way.

This is not to say athletes are always right in speaking out. Ibrahimović has a point about going outside of your lane when speaking out. As with anyone trying to make a political statement, doing your homework is important. Saying anything based on just reading headlines or hearsay more often than not leads to you sounding unintelligent. Research is key when it comes to anyone with a platform trying to make a statement. While James has been a champion on speaking out against racism and social inequality in America, he also missed the mark in 2019 when he rebuked the then-general manager of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, for tweeting his support for the freedom of the people of Hong Kong. Though the content of James’s press conference is up to debate, many saw it as James picking his own self-interests–business and otherwise–over democracy in Hong Kong. While the Chinese boycotted the NBA for Morey tweeting, in essence, an anti-Communist China statement, American’s called out James for siding with them over standing up for democracy. James made matters worse by saying that Morey “wasn’t educated,” when in reality, James seemed to be the one not doing his research on civil liberties in China. By no means does this mean that the face of the NBA should slow down his advocacy. In basketball terms, no one shoots 100% from the free-throw line.

I will take it a step further and condemn Ibrahimović’s statement. I realize he is not American and I cannot speak for European conditions, but athletes in this country have an obligation to use their platform for good. No one is saying they need to get involved in politics, but they need to do something. They get the opportunity to play a game for a living and make millions of dollars doing so. People of all ages look up to athletes and respect what they have to say. They have the opportunity to create real change in any field they are passionate about. Take former-Texans defensive lineman JJ Watt who raised $37 million in Hurricane Harvey relief funds for the city he loves. Or take former-Detroit Lions punter Sam Martin who raised $10,000 for dog food for pets affected by the same hurricane because he loves animals. Look at the greats from the 1960s like Jim Brown, Bill Russell and Ali who used their platform to pressure America for greater equality. Colin Kaepernick took a stand–or rather he knelt–to protest police brutality and racial inequality. Throughout his career, Russell Wilson famously visited Seattle Children's hospital frequently to talk with sick children. All of these athletes stood up for different things, but regardless of what it was, they at least all stood for something. That is because they realized that when they spoke or acted, people listened. Even though it may not always be successful, athletes need to keep at it. Those like James have different past experiences and a different worldview than the typical people with a platform. Though politics and politicians are becoming more diverse, there is still a long way to go. People of color born into poverty do not have the same representation as the rest of the country. However, athletes who come from those backgrounds understand what it is like and they have the utilities at their disposal to make those communities heard.