Tag: Trump

Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump insurrectionists was a surreal, chilling but predictable end to a chaotic, racist and violent administration.

When Trump took office four years ago, the writing about who he was as a human being and leader was clear to anyone willing to pay attention. There were numerous credible allegations of sexual assault and abuse. There were despicable, racist comments about immigrants and foreigners. He mocked the disabled. He urged violence on the news media and on his political opponents.

There was never any shying away from the fact that his appeal was based on the thinly disguised veneer of white supremacy, of appealing to the perceived oppression of white men and women disgruntled at having to recognize the basic humanity and equality of all people of color.

From the beginning he has urged his fervent and deluded supporters to commit violence in his name, offering even to pay legal fees for them should they get arrested.

And yet even when it became clear that there was no bar too low, that he thought the White Nationalists in Charlottesville were “very fine people,” many major league sports teams still took the opportunity to stand by his side. Numerous championship teams still made the visit to this White House. Players were photographed shaking Trump’s hand, taking selfies, and smiling as they handed him a jersey with his name stitched on the back. They made clear, through their grins and fist pumps and effusive gobbling down of congealed fast food, that as along as they had a good time, everything else could be glossed over as the cost of doing business.

There were principled teams and players who took a stand, like the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia Eagles who knew better than to pose next to a preening agitator, but many went either because they fully bought into Trump’s divisive rhetoric, or because they hid under the banner of apolitical cowardice.

Over four years, plenty of teams strolled through the portico doors of the White House’s East Room, deferring to tradition even when it became exceedingly clear that the man occupying the West Wing had run roughshod all over basic democratic norms. The New England Patriots, the Washington Nationals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the St. Louis Blues, the Washington Capitals, the Boston Red Sox and more all publicly stood shoulder to shoulder with a man who, on Wednesday incited his followers to violently disrupt Congressional proceedings that would certify his removal from office.

Donald Trump has always made it clear exactly who he is. And yet, players and teams, as they didn’t want to admit they stood by what Trump believes, have pretended that the they were somehow honoring the institution, or feigned to be “apolitical,” when the question of visits came up.

“It was amazing. That was the president. Just trying to have some fun,” Kurt Suzuki told USA TODAY Sports after the Washington Nationals visit. “Everybody makes everything political. It was about our team winning the World Series.”

“From my side of things, there’s absolutely no politics involved,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said ahead of the teams 2017 visit.

“Every time you get an invitation from the president and being at the White House, it’s going to be a great experience…it’s been a tradition, I think, for many years. We’re not going to mix politics with sports,” Capitals Nicklas Backstrom said of their 2019 visit.

Wednesday’s pictures of frenzied and armed Trump supporters taking over the Congressional floor should be enough to dispel the myth that supporting Trump, in any way manner or form, was an apolitical act. Crowding next to him for a photo op meant ignoring all the violent rhetoric that lead up to Wednesday’s events that left four people dead.

Every visit to the White House is a political act, because it’s implicit support of not just the office, but the man in the office. If it hadn’t already been clear for years, yesterday’s events left no room for doubt what the current man in office is terrifyingly capable of. When players chose to stand next to him, that is the leader they propped up.

Apolitical is a privilege granted only to those who don’t have to worry about the consequences of political actions. For a long time, plenty of athletes have used it as cover. Trump’s inciting of an insurrection should make clear it’s not an acceptable excuse, but an act of moral cowardice.