In stadiums, arenas and Olympic podiums worldwide, sports have always been considered a unifying force bringing people of many cultures and ideologies together.
Even with this binding factor, the playing field has always increasingly been a platform for a variety of political statements, protests and activism.
Many examples can be pulled out of history such as boycotts for the Olympics, athletes kneeling during national anthems, jersey selections, and many more instances that have intertwined these topics more than ever.
The heavyweight champion of the world and Olympic gold medal winner Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was convicted by an all-white jury in Texas in 1967 when he refused to fight in Vietnam. Muhammad Ali, who had changed his name three years earlier, calling Clay his slave name, was a powerful voice for Black civil rights throughout his life.
One of hockey’s legends, Jaromir Jagr, has made the number 68 iconic in the sports world, but this number has more to do with politics than people might realize.
The number represents the year 1968 when Warsaw Pact countries led by the Soviets invaded the country where Jagr was born, Czechoslovakia, to put a chill on the Prague Spring. The country is now split up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In the 1960s, both of Jagr’s grandfathers were jailed. One was released in 1968 but died the same year.
In a 2015 interview with the FanDuel sports network Florida and Sun, Jagr said he picked his number to honour the year and his grandfather.
“Our family had kind of a tough time during '68 when the revolution happened, it was just half of the year in our country, and you know, half the year was freedom so all the people who were politically put in jail, they got released,” he said.
“When I’m gonna have a chance to wear the number, whenever I want, I'm gonna choose 68,” Jagr said.
That same year, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos each raised a black-gloved fist during their medal ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City.
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick got himself involved in the political side of sports when he took a knee during the U.S. national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and racial injustice, sparking widespread debate and similar protests across sports.
In an interview with Steve Wyche from the NFL Network, Kaepernick said his actions were greater than the sport he played.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of colour. To me, this is bigger than football,” Kaepernick said.
Current U.S. President Donald J. Trump voiced his displeasure with the former 49ers signal caller and said he should no longer be part of an NFL franchise.
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now,'" Trump said.
The political side of sports just doesn't involve particular athletes but many tournaments and games as well.
The United States and many Western countries boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the largest boycott in the Games' history.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter led the boycott asking for an alternative location or a cancellation of the games if Soviet troops weren't withdrawn.
In response, the Soviet Union and 14 other communist countries boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics which reduced the level of competition in various sports, as many top athletes from Eastern Bloc countries were absent.
Politics in sports most recently involves Canadians who made headlines for booing the U.S. national anthem at various events, including the NHL, the NBA and, most recently, the Four Nations Face-Off games in Montreal and Boston.
Some American-born players had a chance to speak on the subject such as Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews. He said he has no comment on the anthem booing.
“Not to get into politics, but you’re going to get into politics. Well, I’m not going to get into politics. So, I’ll take the next question,” Matthews said.
This reaction comes from the political tensions between Canada and the United States, particularly following actions taken by Trump where the president signed an executive order imposing a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and services. They're currently on hold until March.
Trump also made controversial remarks suggesting Canada should be seen as the "51st state," further straining diplomatic relations.
Many Canadians viewed these efforts as an attack on their sovereignty and economy, leading to visible public frustration at sporting events.
Sam McCaig, an editor at The Hockey News, said there will be politics in sports no matter the sport or situation.
“Everything is political to some degree, so there's politics in sports whether we want it or not,” McCaig said. “I don't think we want politics to overtake or overshadow sports when you're watching a game, you just want to have a little escape and enjoy the game but sometimes the politics of a situation are too big to ignore.”
McCaig said politics has always surrounded the world including sports.
“You don't need to be for or against a certain political ideology in order to run fast or jump high. But in reality, politics are a part of everything, so there's politics in sports,” McCaig said.
