Sport: The Role Of Activism In Sports

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the definition of the word activism is defined as, “the use of vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change” (Citation). When people do not agree with a topic or trying to raise awareness for a cause, they are taking part in activism. The topic of activism is evident in just about everything we do in our daily lives. One example of where activism is evident is in art work. Activism is evident in a majority of artwork, for example in the work of Susan Crile. Susan Crile used drawings in chalk and charcoal to exhibit activism. Crile made drawings of chalk and charcoal to create activism against the events that took place at the military prison, Abu Ghraib. Another area where …show more content…
Activism can been seem in an activity that a large amount of people take part in every day, sports. An example of this comes from the events of World War II and Vietnam. During the World War II multiple athletes went to the war without much thought. A few even missed their respective sport’s season. On the other hand during the Vietnam War many athletes were reluctant to go to the war. Similarly, an example of activism from sports is the Black Panther Movement in the Summer Olympics of 1968. After placing second and third in their event to members used a simple hand raising gesture to raise awareness. Lastly, examples of activism in sports are not just from the past. A modern day example is from a campaign entitled “I can’t breathe”. After the events that happened in New York City to Eric Garner sparked a campaign that was taken on by multiple collegiate and professional athletes. Activism is not just evident in art work or films but can evident in the sports world through different topics and …show more content…
Many people during the time were not eager to enter into the draft and did not want to fight. When world spread about the draft being needed many took to protesting to show their displeasure with the draft. One of the common ways to show their displeasure by burning your draft card. This is evident in the book Confronting the War Machine: Draft Resistance during the Vietnam War by Michael Foley. The book brings forth an example from the group Committee for Non – Violent Action, CVNA, from Boston, Massachusetts. The CVNA organized a burnings of draft cards on the front steps of the Federal Courthouse in Boston. During the event, if you did not agree with the war you were able to show activism and burn your draft card (Foley 20 – 21). One of the most well – known people who showed activism against the war was heavy weight boxer, Muhammad