Stick to sports

In the United States, the notion that athletes should avoid commenting on social issues has waxed and waned over time.

[1] In the 1960s and 1970s, athletes including Billie Jean King, Muhammad Ali, and Jackie Robinson frequently made public statements about the news of the day.

[2] In the 2010s and 2020s, with the rise of Black Lives Matter in response to events such as the killing of Eric Garner and killing of Trayvon Martin, athlete-activists such as Crystal Dunn,[3] Jason Heyward,[4] Colin Kaepernick, and LeBron James once again began to draw attention to issues including racial inequality.

Detractors view athlete activists as bravely leveraging their influence to support important causes despite the personal cost.

For instance, the NBA estimated that Daryl Morey's October 2019 tweet in support of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests drew reactions that later cost the league up to $200 million.