Pac-12 athletes deserve vigorous questioning… and empathy

Balancing two different needs

I was interviewed on a Zoom-Periscope show based in South Carolina on Wednesday afternoon.

@JBandGoldwater asked me a lot of thoughtful and interesting questions on their Wednesday show. The main topic of conversation was — as you could well imagine — the #WeAreUnited movement among Pac-12 athletes for better protections and benefits in a pandemic, plus progress on racial justice.

Links to the show can be found below:

If you watch or listen to the show, this next point will become apparent, but life is busy, so if you don’t have time to listen to the show, I can summarize the conversation here: The hosts asked tough questions.

I’m glad they did.

We are here to attempt to solve problems or, at the very least, make sense of a complicated and emotionally potent situation.

One of the main points I made in this discussion was to emphasize that athletes are still — in some cases — looking for the exact right words to express their needs and concerns. Some have an extremely defined sense of what they want to achieve, but not all of them do… because they’re not political professionals. These young athletes are not paid to organize political campaigns. They are students and athletes. They are 18 to 21 years old. This is likely their first big foray into the national spotlight and the world of activism.

They are not experienced veterans. They are new to this realm of activity.

Athletes do not deserve a pass on these questions. They should indeed have to answer tough inquiries on why they are doing what they’re doing, and what their ultimate plans and goals are.

One thing which is easy to overlook about journalism is that tough questioning does not necessarily reflect hostility on the part of the interviewer toward the person being interviewed. In many cases (though certainly not all), a tough line of questioning from an interviewer can be the best way for an activist to express him/herself and make a movement look good.

If an activist can hold up under tough questioning, that tells everyone watching or listening that the movement has a well-defined goal and a level of astuteness everyone can respect.

@JBandGoldwater asked tough questions — that makes for a good conversation and a grown-up attempt to define what the #WeAreUnited athletes are doing here.

Is this a perfectly-calibrated, expertly-conveyed set of demands? No… but as I have said before, perfection — political brilliance — should not be our expectation of these athletes. Respecting their position — chiefly, wanting to be safe and cared for in a pandemic — should be paramount.

That doesn’t transcend the need to question these athletes; it should accompany the need to question them. The need to show empathy and understanding exists co-equally with the need to offer tough questions. Those needs exist on the same plane.

My thanks to @JBandGoldwater for demonstrating that in our conversation.