.png)
Social Justice in the World of Sports with Ty Reeves
- Alexis Bazydola
- Sep 3, 2020
- 3 min read
Recently I had the honor to join my friend Ty on his podcast, The Anything and Everything Podcast. Below you will find the link to that conversation. Today I will be recapping what exactly we got to talk about with the help of Ty.
Uncomfortable. That is one of the biggest themes of 2020. We are uncomfortable within our homes. We are uncomfortable going out in public. We are uncomfortable with conversations surrounding race. It can feel overwhelming and exhausting. No matter where you are, no matter what your career is, no matter what you look like, this year has affected you in some monumental way. Yet here we are: still powering through each day in the hope that change is coming. And friends let me tell you it’s coming. We can feel it. Something big and beautiful is stemming from this pain and uncomfortability. It is taking time. Slowly but surely. But it’s coming and here’s how I know…
Sports shut down this week. They said no more. Each major league that is playing right now (and even NFL teams who are not) said enough is enough we must take a stand. And take a stand they did. They boycotted games and said today this is bigger than the game we play. While the WNBA has been leading the charge towards the Black Lives Matter movement in sports for years, this week the MLB, NBA, MLS and NHL followed their lead and cancelled games in support. While players like Lebron James and Tyler Seguin have been kneeling during the national anthem following the lead from Colin Kaepernick who began kneeling in 2016. Others like the NHL’s Matt Dumba have been raising a fist in solidarity during the anthem as well. These protests have shown the world that athletes are ready to take a stand against social injustices. While many of them are playing inside of a bubble, boycotting games and kneeling during an anthem are the acts they are currently able to take.
With these protests comes more uncomfort and fans were quick to report how they felt on the matter. I had the pleasure last week to listen to a seminar hosted by She’s4Sports and Canadian Women & Sport which featured Kim Davis, NHL Executive Vice President for Social Impact, Growth Initiatives, and Legislative Affairs. In the discussion, Davis stated that “If we are going to stand for something, we need to be willing to lose some fans to gain new ones, to build our future.” For our future, we must be willing to dig deeper. As an NHL fan, I must be willing to work harder to create change within the game. That includes on the ice, behind the bench and in the front office. Now is the time to get uncomfortable. Now is the time to push for change and growth in order to better the games we love.
As a white woman, I am not going to get it right all the time. But allyship is a space where I must be willing to step up to the plate and own my wrongs and learn from them. Athletes are some of the biggest role models we have in our lives. We watch them develop their talents and we watch them dominate the games they love. Sports unify the world. Whether you’re rooting for your favorite team or you’re rooting for the underdogs, sports bring people together. It’s a unified language when you’re in the game. My hope for the future is that sports continues to unify the world. My hope is sports continues to call out injustices and raise awareness and continue to educate the population. We are building a big beautiful world. A world where equity is achievable. A world where we are a better and more whole society. A world where we don’t have to keep having this same conversation about racial injustice but a conversation about how beautiful it is that we finally achieved peace and harmony. As we mentioned in the podcast, this November, if you are able to, make your voice heard and vote. Vote with your heart. Vote with your mind. Do what is right to continue to fight for the equal society we all deserve.
Check out my conversation with Ty where you get your pods:
Comments