By Steve Levy
The leftists who control sports media at ESPN and their radio affiliates were having a meltdown after New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart had the audacity to introduce the president of the United States at an event in New Jersey last month.
It is remarkable that showing political support, or even respect, by introducing the president was somehow considered an act of treason to the sports world.
How dare he inject politics into the locker room! One of his teammates, linebacker Abdul Carter, publicly went to X to admonish the quarterback for having introduced the president.
But we don’t recall any such pushback when athletes lent their support to liberal causes. How about Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry supporting Kamala Harris so publicly?
How about LeBron James publicly endorsing each of the last three Democratic candidates for president, dating back to Hillary Clinton?
If you don’t realize by now, it’s not a two-way street. The liberal bubble that controls sports media, like the media at large, encourages athletes to support leftist causes.
Case in point was the boycott of Atlanta over the Major League Baseball All-Star Game after the state of Georgia put in place election safeguards. The ultimate irony is those reforms actually led to more African-Americans voting.
Athletes were encouraged to take a knee during the anthem, but God forbid they expressed support for men and women in blue.
The sports world is just another example of our numerous institutions that have been taken over by the woke mob. That includes academia, both in the college ranks and all the way down to kindergarten. It includes the entertainment industry, the legacy media, and social media platforms (including Facebook, Apple and Google and the then-named Twitter).
Is it any wonder why faith in our institutions has deteriorated to record lows? When our medical associations send out white papers that it is dangerous to have outdoor church services, but totally fine to have protests for social justice, we know we’ve lost our minds.
So it shouldn’t be surprising that the sports media complex, with its far-left tilt, would come out bashing Jaxson Dart for having the temerity to simply want to shake hands and introduce a president of the United States — if that president is a Republican.
It’s important for moderates and conservatives in the sports world to stand up and speak their minds and push back. After Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees made a statement that not standing for the Anthem was disrespectful, he capitulated to the mob and apologized.
Stop this nonsense. The double standard must come to an end.