Big Words on a Big Stage

Jackie Robinson. Bill Russell. Jim Brown. Muhammed Ali. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. LeBron James.

Some of sports' greatest players, legends on the court, proved themselves to be of the same variety off the court through activism. The fact is athletes have no obligation to shut up and dribble or run or throw or catch. The athletes who remain dormant off the court and refuse to make a difference in the world, through community service, charity work, or activism, those are the subdued ones who should be called out. No matter how good a player is on the court, it is their contributions off the court that puts them down in history; the players who use their platform to make a difference are the ones who prove to not only be players of the best quality, but people of the best quality as well. Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell, and Jim Brown led the Civil Rights movement in the sports world. Muhammed Ali participated in a global humanitarian movement and led the pacifist movement in America. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fought for equal rights regardless of race, religion, or social background. Today LeBron stands for social justice in the support of Black Lives Matter as well as his advocation for fair rights to education, which he fuels through his own foundation that covers the tuition of select University of Akron students. Greatness is not only embodied in how you play, but also in how you compose yourself and in the difference you make on the world around you. These legends above clearly emanate greatness. If they had simply shut up and played their sports they would be doing an injustice to this world because the fact of the matter is this: athletes are some of the most famous people on earth. And with this fame comes the respect of millions of fans, a huge platform, and an impression on all of the fans. To stand idly and silently on this platform; to leave all the stones unturned; to do the injustice both to yourself and the world of degrading yourself to "just an athlete", is to leave your job as a role model, a benefactor, and a hero unfulfilled. While it is true that athletes are, as are most other people, not necessarily political experts all the time, it is true that every single one of them has their own story that deserves to be told, each with its own hardships and lessons involved. And this is exactly why athletes should be encouraged to use their platform, to use their voice, they've all experienced some bad aspect of life; they all have matters that they're passionate and well informed about, so speak they should. Many one of the athletic activists of the past have been focused on racial equality, or social equality in general, however lately athletes have been advocating for a new matter. In 2011, Brandon Marshall, WR for the Miami Dolphins at the time, revealed he had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Since then he's been one of the most passionate activists in sports, as he's advocated for awareness and treatment for all mental health issues as he's started a nonprofit organization called Project 375 and paying the NFL in 2013 to wear green cleats in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week. In the past few weeks, more mental health activists have emerged in the NBA, recounting their personal experiences and already beginning to make a difference. DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love have shared their struggles with mental health recently in hopes of making a difference in the landscape. DeRozan, shortly after tweeting "This depression get the best of me", explained that he's struggled with it his whole life and as he's grown he's realized how widespread the issue is and so he hopes to both spread awareness for it and advocate for further mental health help, using his platform to get the word out while also saying, "It’s one of them things that no matter how indestructible we look like we are, we’re all human at the end of the day" to show that while he is a famous athlete he's just like everybody else. His bravery to share his story inspired Kevin Love to share the story of a panic attack he had during a Hawks game on November 5 of last year. He expressed how he soon started seeing a therapist and how his views on mental health quickly changed as it is now a matter he is strongly advocating for as we as a nation need to make progress on it. These athletes are making a difference in this world by using the big stage and echo of their voice to make an impression and by being proactive instead of passive. To those that sit back and watch or just launch politically critical messages on social media, please use your stage wisely because you do have the power to make a difference. And please to all of you activist-athletes: never just shut up and play, keep using your voice to make a difference. It can be hard to open up about personal struggles as most of these athletes have done, but once more athletes open up, social problems will become easier and easier to tackle as a whole. So keep doing what you're doing because what you're doing is bigger than anything you could accomplish on the court, as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said when he earned the highest civilian honor, "You don't get that medal just for hoops."

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