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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
September 3, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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September 3, 2020
 
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FAR (aw. Whole new green Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020 — Shelton-Mason County Journal- Page A-37 The renovation project at Shelton High Sohool’s Highclimber Stadium, Sunday, is nearing completion. Crews began installing the artificial turf on Jack Stark Field last week. Courtesy photo It’s time to shut up and listen to athletes Shut up and dribble.” Or throw, run, hit, score... In recent months, as con- versations around race have become prevalent among athletes and teams across the United States, a subset of the population has expressed — can and can’t say? If you don’t like the prod- uct, don’t watch it, but real- \ ity is that sports and politics have been intertwined since time immemorial. Back in 532 A.D., ac— cording to a 2019 story on ESPN’s “The Undefeated,” often heatedly —- that players By JUSTIN rival chariot drivers in Con- and coaches should “stick to JOHNSON . stantinople asked Emperor sports.” Justinian to pardon two of I disagree. their fpllowers who had been White people upset that Black athletes won’t quietly dance for their entertainment speaks volumes about where we are in the conversation about race and justice in America. Buying a ticket to a sporting event doesn’t give you ownership of the par- ticipants. Do you Walk into a movie theater thinking you own a movie just because you bought a ticket? No. So, why again do people think they have the' right to dictate what athletes condemned to die. He refused,fleading to the Nika Revolt, which saw six weeks of rioting that resulted in the death of 30,000 people. , . In 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run in the Boston Marathon after signing in as K.V. \ Switzer. A race official tried, unsuc- cessfully, to pull her off the course and she became the first to officially com- plete the prestigious race. The United States boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics because of Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. Those are just three of thousands of examples, both here in the US. and around the werld, of sports mingling with politics. While professional athletes earn their living playing sports, they’re still individual people and as such have the right to speak their mind and give their opinion. According to several sources, about 75% of National Basketball Associa- tion players are peopleof color. About 60% of National Football League play- ers are Black. , For those players, the conversa- tions aren’t abstract, far away discus- sions — they are issues that directly affect them. In recent weeks, many players have shared their personal experiences. Last week, the Miami Herald re- ported that an overzealous security guard summoned the police on former Miami Dolphins player Brandon Mar- shall as he was moving into a new home in Weston, Florida. “The reality is, people fear our skin,” Marshall told Florida’s WSVN- Channel 7. “That’s the reality.” How do you blame someone for speaking up because they were ha- rassed simply because they were mov- ing into their own home? It’s no secret we live in an increas— ingly polarized society, but it’s far past time to stop judging people simply be- cause of the color of their skin. If you really care about the players on the team you support, instead of telling them to “shut up and dribble,” how about taking a minute to absorb what they’re saying? Real and lasting change takes con- versation. It takes maturity. It takes willingness to set aside your precon- , ceived notions and engage'with the > other side. It’s timeto shut up and listen. I Justin Johnson is the Sports Outdoors Editor for the Shelton-Mason County Journal. He can be reached by email at justin@masoncounty.com. H