Terry Foster: Unlike Ali, Athletes Do Not Take Stands Anymore Because Of Money
By Terry Foster
@TerryFoster971
The Lions players got it wrong again. It is no tougher today to take social stands like Muhammad Ali did in the 1960s and 1970s.
Today a few bozos might give you the Ziggy on Twitter. Back then you faced bodily harm and death. Ali was way braver than any athlete today. He risked livelihood, racial slurs and death. He received a number of death threats for speaking his mind and acting with too much bravado.
"Now you are under the microscope with everything you do and everything you say or do can be misread," said Lions wide receiver Golden Tate told the Free Press recently. "Although when (Ali) was doing it was tough too because of the racial indifference and all the bad stuff was still happening. Now you just got to watch yourself. You got to protect your brand and you just never know."
The brand pro athletes want to protect revolves around endorsements and marketing. Yes, if you speak out too much today you risk losing money. You are deemed too controversial. It was the same back then. I did not see Ali doing many endorsements outside of peddling bug spray.
America was not buying what Ali was selling.
Ali did not have to deal with social media. However, he dealt with every day people who spit in his face, called him the N-word and did not like the stances he took on religion and by refusing to report for the Vietnam War. He paid for it big time, but Ali believed in his convictions.
Athletes do not take stands because of money. Michael Jordan refused to endorse democratic candidates or take stands by saying "Republicans buy shoes also." Blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians, the left and the right also buy shoes, go to restaurants and take vacations. The bottom line is high profile people do not want to diminish their earning potential.
I do not blame them but my point is Ali faced the same risks.
The Miami Heat and other black athletes took stands in the Travon Martin murder. Some have spoken out on behave of "Black Lives Matter." However, they have a small window of opportunity to chase that green. They want to maximize that.
I received a text from a friend named Ryan who met Ali and had a long conversation. Here is what he wrote.
"In my knowing of Ali and through our conversation one day we were speaking about how he felt he was treated unfairly by the sports, by (promoter) Don King, in the sport by the public, about political views, about everything. He looked at me and said Ryan 'I'm just another N-word. People don't understand that he really was never praised as an athlete. He was used by the people around him and it wasn't until after that then people started to make him into an icon."
Former Pistons great Dave Bing spoke to the Freep and said: "(Today's athletes are) standing on the shoulders, in my opinion, of guys who were not afraid to stand up for what they believe in. And I think today, guys are so insulated because of the kind of money they make, they don't really get too involved in some of the social issues that we're still dealing with. And they got the perfect stage to do that. And Muhammad knew that he has the perfect stage and he used it to his advantage and it was an advantage to all of us."
(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com)