Athletes As Activists
Your Athletes Can Make A Difference
By Ashley Wright
In 1968, San Jose State University students Tommie Smith and John Carlos, winners of the gold and bronze medals at the men’s 200-meter sprint at the Olympic Games in Mexico City, took a stand for African-American unity. Wearing black socks with no shoes to symbolize African-American poverty and a black glove to express African-American strength and unity, they each raised a clenched fist into the air during the medal ceremony. While their actions were controversial at the time and not without consequence, Carlos and Smith earned a place in the “iconography of athletic protest,” wrote a Smithsonian magazine writer on the 40th anniversary of the protest last year.
Today, 40 years after Carlos and Smith’s public stand, professionals in youth sports encourage student-athletes from elementary school to college to lead the charge for charitable causes and in support of various issues. “Young athletes are role models, whether they choose to be or not,” said Wanda L. Rutledge, Ph.D., president of the National Council of Youth Sports. “I believe it is important to reinforce the idea that they can and should be good role models. The views, opinions and actions of athletes have power and meaning both inside and outside of the competition venue. When young athletes speak out on important issues, when they lead fundraising and awareness-building programs, they demonstrate a much-needed commitment to the greater good. Their positive influence will ripple throughout their community and throughout time.”
Athletes are already equipped with the kinds of skills that activism involves, such as critical thinking, teamwork and a strive for excellence, according to Eli Wolff, manager of research and advocacy at the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University, a social justice organization that uses sport to
create social change both nationally and internationally. “It’s important that student-athletes have a broader definition of what activism is. There’s often a misconception of what it can be, but really we’re seeking a broader understanding of what student-athletes can define as activism. It can be anything from taking a public stand on an issue to being part of a coalition to community service through a local organization. An important part of student involvement is to have a larger world view and understanding of social issues and think about the role of sports/athletes in society and to stay informed about issues out there.”
Lending Their Voices
In the spring of 2007, two high school seniors joined BlazeSports America, along with Georgia legislators and other local advocacy groups, to successfully pass legislation to improve opportunities for athletes with disabilities at the college level. House Resolution 322, introduced by Rep. Ben Harbin (R-Evans), Rep. Mark Burkhalter (R-Alpharetta) and Rep. Bob Smith (R-Watkinville), was unanimously passed by the Georgia House of Representatives and the Senate in 2007 to establish a legislative study committee that examines and creates opportunities for student-athletes with disability at the collegiate level in Georgia. The student-athletes, along with peers and fellow advocates, spoke in front of the legislature to describe the plight of high school athletes with disability who are forced to leave Georgia to continue their sport on the collegiate level due to the growing but still limited opportunities for wheelchair basketball, track and field, swimming and wheelchair tennis in their home state.
“I really enjoy sports and want to play in college,” said Brandon Rudolph, a 17-year-old senior from North Springs High School and a wheelchair basketball player on the Georgia Blazers. “I don’t understand why I need to go somewhere like Arizona or Illinois to pursue my dream. We have great colleges in Georgia, and I support the legislature’s actions to give me and others equal opportunities.” Maggie Frederick, a graduate of Marietta High School who now attends the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also testified.
According to Mara Galic, nutrition/program development specialist with BlazeSports, both students have been involved with BlazeSports for many years, from elementary school age onward. “To me it’s been personally gratifying seeing them grow with the organization and become such wonderful role models for other kids with disabilities,” she said. “It shows that your disability is just one of your characteristics. It doesn’t define you.”
The resolution also directs the study committee to explore the development of pilot programs, recruitment of athletes, and nonprofit and private sector support for different collegiate programs. Georgia has not had any collegiate sport for students with disability since Georgia State University terminated the wheelchair tennis program that was funded by a grant from BlazeSports America.
Michael Weinberg, a senior at Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, Calif., is captain of his soccer team. He collects sporting equipment for children throughout the globe; to date, he has organized four sporting equipment drives and has collected more than 1,000 items in connection with Sports Gift, which provides sports to underprivileged children and communities and promotes sports-related community service to help America’s youth get involved in helping others, according to Keven Baxter, president of Sports Gift.
Throughout the year, Sports Gift asks high school students, schools, scout groups, churches and other youth groups to participate in this community service opportunity to help underprivileged children play sports, Baxter said. By organizing a sports equipment collection in their communities, athletes like Weinberg help provide gently used and new sports equipment to needy children across the globe.
“Different sports have different seasons, so we’ve designed a program where any individual or group can organize a collection at any point in the year that makes sense with the schedule of the sport or works the best for them. “Jeremy has done a great job for us and a great job of supporting school sports and his community.”
For Weinberg, Sports Gift was a gateway for most of his volunteering over the last two years. “I brought the idea to the president of the school’s National Honor Society last year and she was so impressed that she encouraged me to run for an officer position along with organizing all the collections,” he said. “Volunteering is one of the most important things students can do. It opens up a whole new perspective to many kids who know nothing more than their own world around them. A larger world perspective is crucial to personal development on many levels.”
Giving Their Feet
More than 300 million children worldwide are without shoes, but student-athletes working with Samaritan’s Feet International are trying to change that one child, one pair of shoes at a time. Through Samaritan’s Feet International, whose mission is to “bring a life-changing message of hope to youth and children through sports and recreational adventures” and “demonstrate compassion by washing and equipping their feet with shoes and touching their hearts with the love of God,” student-athletes collect shoes and participate in fundraisers here in the United States in support of mission trips to distribute shoes to kids around the world. Some even go on the mission trips themselves.
In 2007, in support of Samaritan’s Feet International, Ron Hunter, head basketball coach for Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), went shoeless to a January game to show his support for the children in need after meeting Samaritan’s Feet Founder Emmanuel “Manny” Ohonme. Surpassing his original goal of 40,000 pairs, Hunter had 110,000 pairs of shoes by tip-off. Numerous students—including the team—attended the game barefoot to show their support as well.
In August, Hunter traveled to Lima, Peru, with his coaching staff and three players to deliver and distribute 3,000 pairs of shoes. “The hardest part was leaving every day,” sophomore Adrian Moss stated in an ESPN.com report. “We’d give out 300 pairs of shoes, and 500 more people would be in line. [We’d] leave thinking that we made them happy for one day, but they’re more [people] still there.”
Before giving the children their shoes, Hunter, his staff and the three players washed the children’s feet as an act of service and chance to interact with the kids, Hunter said. “It’s amazing to see these athletes realize these kids don’t have shoes and the effect that has on them,” said Todd Melloh, director of marketing for Samaritan’s Feet. “These kids normally play with no shoes. Go run three miles barefoot and see what the effects are on your feet. They do it every day. It’s really impactful when athletes can see firsthand the effect the donated shoes has on these children.”
Ways To Speak Out, Stand Up & Take Action
From lending a voice to lending a hand, there are numerous ways student-athletes and youth-based athletic organizations can take an active role in charitable causes and important issues. Websites like Volunteermatch.org or Idealist.org can help match youth sports programs, student-athletes and individuals with organizations looking for volunteers. As Weinberg said of his volunteer experience with Sports Gift, “It seemed like a great idea because I feel that it’s always easier and more rewarding to work on a community service project that you’re passionate about. I’ve played sports all my life, so I recognized the value a simple soccer ball can play in the life of a child.”