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ESPN and competitors ditch their ‘stick to sports’ mantra. Politics is now fair game

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4 years ago

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The network has gone all in on its coverage of athletes who have joined protests and spoken out about the death of Black Americans such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police. And in July, ESPN’s owner The Walt Disney Company (DIS) announced a first-look deal with Colin Kaepernick that includes an exclusive docu-series with Hill, who left ESPN in 2018, serving as producer.
“There’s no bigger indication that the times have changed,” Jim Miller, journalist and co-author of the 2011 book “Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN,” told CNN Business.
Last week’s NBA players’ strike following the shooting of Jacob Blake prompted other sports leagues to take a stand for Black Lives Matters and postpone their games as well. Without a playoff game to dissect, ESPN’s analysts filled the airtime with discussions about racial injustice. On TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” host Kenny Smith walked off set in solidarity with the athletes.
“Sometimes, as African Americans, we know being on the side of right there has to be some uncomfortability for people to actually pay attention to it,” Smith told CNN Business when he reflected on his walkout. “I wish there was a society where you don’t have to do things to get attention, but that hasn’t been the case in any form for our communities.”
The media has long struggled with how to cover the intersection of sports and politics, with management at ESPN and Deadspin opting to concentrate on the former and shy away from the latter. But amid a pandemic that forced sports to go dark and a national reckoning over race, sports journalists are learning that the firewall between sports and politics has vanished, if it ever existed.

“Stick to sports”

In some cases, the “stick to sports” refrain comes from readers rather than management.
During her more than two decades covering sports, USA Today sports columnist Nancy Armour said she has received feedback from readers asking her to keep politics out of sports whenever her columns touch on social issues.
Armour said she has been writing about sports and activism with increasing frequency lately, but the intersection of sports and politics is nothing new.
“Jackie Robinson was the face of desegregation. That was political. Billie Jean King fought for equal pay and equal rights for women. That’s political. The NFL got money from the service branches to have their representatives at games. That’s political,” Armour said.
There are countless examples of athletes as activists, many of whom were featured in the 2018 documentary, “Shut Up and Dribble,” produced by NBA star LeBron James. Decades before Kaepernick took a knee, Muhammad Ali was banned temporarily from boxing and sentenced to five years in prison for draft evasion in protest of the Vietnam War.
Even so, “stick to sports” has pervaded sports media. ESPN released a poll last year that found the majority of viewers do not want to hear about politics on the network. Miller, the ESPN expert, said the network used it as a reason to keep politics out of its coverage.
“They had all this quote unquote research that suggested the viewers didn’t want to hear any of it,” Miller said. “They put that all on the audience, but it was clear that they were more comfortable.”
ESPN spokesperson Mike Soltys insists that the company’s stance on political coverage is “often mischaracterized.”
“We have said we aren’t covering pure politics, but clearly we cover it when it intersects with sports, including in the last 24 hours as the sports world became a focal point of social unrest,” Soltys told CNN Business last Thursday during the NBA strike.
G/O Media management also called on Deadspin bloggers and reporters to “stick to sports” last year, prompting staffers to resign en masse. But G/O Media says it has since clarified its stance.
“Deadspin’s mandate is to do sports stories we think matter, whether it be on racial injustice, gender disparities, LGBTQ rights, the environment, or who won the game last night,” a G/O Media spokesperson told CNN Business. “Where sports meets life, essentially, is what we want to explore, examine and question.”
Diana Moskovitz, investigations editor and cofounder of Defector Media, a new media company operated by former Deadspin staffers like herself, told CNN Business that “stick to sports” comes up not only from management but also from peers. (Moskovitz had given her two weeks notice to Deadspin just prior to the mass exodus.)
She said former colleagues in previous newsrooms where she worked have dismissed sports reporters by saying they should stick to game recaps and player performance.
“There’s this version of stay in your lane,” Moskovitz added. “If some real news happens, don’t worry we’ll call one of the White House correspondents because they’re the real reporters.”
ESPN alumn Cari Champion echoed this when she elaborated on why she and Hill launched “Cari & Jemele: Stick To Sports” on Vice TV. Champion said the name was inspired by “what many people asked us to do while we were” at ESPN and “that was just stay in that one lane.”
“Those who tell you to stick to sports are uncomfortable with our take on what we’re seeing in the world and how it relates to sports,” Champion said on “Morning Joe” last week. “As Black journalists, I feel that it is so important for us to speak up about what we see because what’s happening in the country right now requires someone who’s lived that life… All we’re asking right now, especially with our show, is for you just to see us, the humanness in us, the humanity in us.”

“They’re tired of asking nicely”

It’s been nearly impossible for sports journalists to stick solely to game results and player statistics this year. Safety measures stemming from the pandemic forced sports to shut down in March. And when sports returned, protests over George Floyd’s death had roiled the country for months. For the NBA, activism has been at the forefront from its bubble in Orlando, Florida.
“They have worn uniforms with racial-justice slogans and T-shirts that say black lives matter played on courts bearing the same message, and often steered interviews away from basketball to talk about issues such as voter suppression and police violence,” Hill wrote in The Atlantic where she now a contributing writer.
Armour said the NBA players’ strike was sparked by a “tipping point” that the country has reached. She cited LeBron James’ repeated calls for addressing systemic racism, which go as far back to 2012 with the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.
“They’re tired of asking nicely,” Armour said. “What more can they do? This is it. They said we’re going to take our ball and we’re going to sit this one out until we get at least an effort to get the kind of action we want.”
Black Lives Matter taking center stage in sports should come as no surprise since sports are played by “human beings, American citizens,” Moskovitz said, noting that the athletes in some leagues, such as the NBA and the NFL, “the vast majority are Black.”
“Police brutality affects their everyday lives,” Moskovitz told CNN Business. “Even if they are millionaires, they are still Black. Of course, they’re going to talk about that because how could they not?”
Hill wasn’t available to comment for this story, but she made similar remarks to CNN’s Jim Sciutto last week.
“They want America to listen to what it’s like to really be Black in America in this country, and to understand the racism that they still even face despite being pro-athletes, despite having these platforms and making millions of dollars and often, in many moments, they’re reminded that they’re Black,” Hill said.
And it’s not just the Black Lives Matter movement. Athletes have spoken out against “inequality, sexism and misogyny, especially in women’s athletics,” Moskovitz said. “To tell them to not talk about that with the platform they have is just denying them their humanity.”
It’s also clear that some reporters will not stay silent about politics and social issues, either.
In a Thursday piece titled, “NBA Players and Their Causes Will Benefit From Decision to Keep Playing,” Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix wrote, “I shudder at the behavior of President Donald Trump, and often struggle to understand the people who support him. I share a popular opinion that the country will be better off when he’s gone.”
The Athletic’s Tony Jones said on Friday’s episode of Sam Vecenie’s “Game Theory” podcast, “Enough is enough, man.”
“You have so many instances where you’re gunned down just because of the color of your skin,” he added. “As a Black man, I’m tired of this. I’m tired of waking up and seeing stuff like this.”

Source: – CNN

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Beyoncé channels Pamela Anderson in ‘Baywatch’ for Halloween video asking viewers to vote

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2 days ago

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November 5, 2024

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NEW YORK (AP) — In a new video posted early Election Day, Beyoncé channels Pamela Anderson in the television program “Baywatch” – red one-piece swimsuit and all – and asks viewers to vote.

In the two-and-a-half-minute clip, set to most of “Bodyguard,” a four-minute cut from her 2024 country album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé cosplays as Anderson’s character before concluding with a simple message, written in white text: “Happy Beylloween,” followed by “Vote.”

At a rally for Donald Trump in Pittsburgh on Monday night, the former president spoke dismissively about Beyoncé’s appearance at a Kamala Harris rally in Houston in October, drawing boos for the megastar from his supporters.

“Beyoncé would come in. Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs. There were no songs. There was no happiness,” Trump said.

She did not perform — unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland – but she endorsed Harris and gave a moving speech, initially joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.

“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.

“A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” she said at the rally in Houston, her hometown.

“Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations,” she continued. “We must vote, and we need you.”

The Harris campaign has taken on Beyonce’s track “Freedom,” a cut from her landmark 2016 album “Lemonade,” as its anthem.

Harris used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.

Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Justin Trudeau’s Announcing Cuts to Immigration Could Facilitate a Trump Win

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2 days ago

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November 5, 2024

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Outside of sports and a “Cold front coming down from Canada,” American news media only report on Canadian events that they believe are, or will be, influential to the US. Therefore, when Justin Trudeau’s announcement, having finally read the room, that Canada will be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted by more than 20 percent and temporary residents like skilled workers and college students will be cut by more than half made news south of the border, I knew the American media felt Trudeau’s about-face on immigration was newsworthy because many Americans would relate to Trudeau realizing Canada was accepting more immigrants than it could manage and are hoping their next POTUS will follow Trudeau’s playbook.

Canada, with lots of space and lacking convenient geographical ways for illegal immigrants to enter the country, though still many do, has a global reputation for being incredibly accepting of immigrants. On the surface, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver appear to be multicultural havens. However, as the saying goes, “Too much of a good thing is never good,” resulting in a sharp rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, which you can almost taste in the air. A growing number of Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, are blaming recent immigrants for causing the housing affordability crises, inflation, rise in crime and unemployment/stagnant wages.

Throughout history, populations have engulfed themselves in a tribal frenzy, a psychological state where people identify strongly with their own group, often leading to a ‘us versus them’ mentality. This has led to quick shifts from complacency to panic and finger-pointing at groups outside their tribe, a phenomenon that is not unique to any particular culture or time period.

My take on why the American news media found Trudeau’s blatantly obvious attempt to save his political career, balancing appeasement between the pitchfork crowd, who want a halt to immigration until Canada gets its house in order, and immigrant voters, who traditionally vote Liberal, newsworthy; the American news media, as do I, believe immigration fatigue is why Kamala Harris is going to lose on November 5th.

Because they frequently get the outcome wrong, I don’t take polls seriously. According to polls in 2014, Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were in a dead heat in Ontario, yet Wynne won with more than twice as many seats. In the 2018 Quebec election, most polls had the Coalition Avenir Québec with a 1-to-5-point lead over the governing Liberals. The result: The Coalition Avenir Québec enjoyed a landslide victory, winning 74 of 125 seats. Then there’s how the 2016 US election polls showing Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton were ridiculously way off, highlighting the importance of the election day poll and, applicable in this election as it was in 2016, not to discount ‘shy Trump supporters;’ voters who support Trump but are hesitant to express their views publicly due to social or political pressure.

My distrust in polls aside, polls indicate Harris is leading by a few points. One would think that Trump’s many over-the-top shenanigans, which would be entertaining were he not the POTUS or again seeking the Oval Office, would have him far down in the polls. Trump is toe-to-toe with Harris in the polls because his approach to the economy—middle-class Americans are nostalgic for the relatively strong economic performance during Trump’s first three years in office—and immigration, which Americans are hyper-focused on right now, appeals to many Americans. In his quest to win votes, Trump is doing what anyone seeking political office needs to do: telling the people what they want to hear, strategically using populism—populism that serves your best interests is good populism—to evoke emotional responses. Harris isn’t doing herself any favours, nor moving voters, by going the “But, but… the orange man is bad!” route, while Trump cultivates support from “weird” marginal voting groups.

To Harris’s credit, things could have fallen apart when Biden abruptly stepped aside. Instead, Harris quickly clinched the nomination and had a strong first few weeks, erasing the deficit Biden had given her. The Democratic convention was a success, as was her acceptance speech. Her performance at the September 10th debate with Donald Trump was first-rate.

Harris’ Achilles heel is she’s now making promises she could have made and implemented while VP, making immigration and the economy Harris’ liabilities, especially since she’s been sitting next to Biden, watching the US turn into the circus it has become. These liabilities, basically her only liabilities, negate her stance on abortion, democracy, healthcare, a long-winning issue for Democrats, and Trump’s character. All Harris has offered voters is “feel-good vibes” over substance. In contrast, Trump offers the tangible political tornado (read: steamroll the problems Americans are facing) many Americans seek. With Trump, there’s no doubt that change, admittedly in a messy fashion, will happen. If enough Americans believe the changes he’ll implement will benefit them and their country…

The case against Harris on immigration, at a time when there’s a huge global backlash to immigration, even as the American news media are pointing out, in famously immigrant-friendly Canada, is relatively straightforward: During the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration, illegal Southern border crossings increased significantly.

The words illegal immigration, to put it mildly, irks most Americans. On the legal immigration front, according to Forbes, most billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, to name three, have immigrants as CEOs. Immigrants, with tech skills and an entrepreneurial thirst, have kept America leading the world. I like to think that Americans and Canadians understand the best immigration policy is to strategically let enough of these immigrants in who’ll increase GDP and tax base and not rely on social programs. In other words, Americans and Canadians, and arguably citizens of European countries, expect their governments to be more strategic about immigration.

The days of the words on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty pedestal’s lower level, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are no longer tolerated. Americans only want immigrants who’ll benefit America.

Does Trump demagogue the immigration issue with xenophobic and racist tropes, many of which are outright lies, such as claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets? Absolutely. However, such unhinged talk signals to Americans who are worried about the steady influx of illegal immigrants into their country that Trump can handle immigration so that it’s beneficial to the country as opposed to being an issue of economic stress.

In many ways, if polls are to be believed, Harris is paying the price for Biden and her lax policies early in their term. Yes, stimulus spending quickly rebuilt the job market, but at the cost of higher inflation. Loosen border policies at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was increasing was a gross miscalculation, much like Trudeau’s immigration quota increase, and Biden indulging himself in running for re-election should never have happened.

If Trump wins, Democrats will proclaim that everyone is sexist, racist and misogynous, not to mention a likely White Supremacist, and for good measure, they’ll beat the “voter suppression” button. If Harris wins, Trump supporters will repeat voter fraud—since July, Elon Musk has tweeted on Twitter at least 22 times about voters being “imported” from abroad—being widespread.

Regardless of who wins tomorrow, Americans need to cool down; and give the divisive rhetoric a long overdue break. The right to an opinion belongs to everyone. Someone whose opinion differs from yours is not by default sexist, racist, a fascist or anything else; they simply disagree with you. Americans adopting the respectful mindset to agree to disagree would be the best thing they could do for the United States of America.

______________________________________________________________

 

Nick Kossovan, a self-described connoisseur of human psychology, writes about what’s

on his mind from Toronto. You can follow Nick on Twitter and Instagram @NKossovan.

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RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. ‘It’s possible,’ Trump says

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3 days ago

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November 4, 2024

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PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”

The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.

Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.

In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.

“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.

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