Sports Raises Its Platform For Social Change Again…

Perhaps more than any other consistent platform, sports over the years has been a very effective voice for social change. Whether it was Jackie Robinson and integration, Billie Jean King and equality, sports has created a consistent call to action for hot button issues of the day. Sometimes the call to action comes and goes, sometimes the engagement by athletes with fans grows and becomes a much larger call to action than was originally anticipated.

The latest example we see has been in Arizona, where the Diamondbacks and the Suns have both intentionally and unintentionally been caught up in the debate with regard to Arizon.s immigration laws. Whether it is fair or not for activists to be picketing the Diamondbacks on the road, or for playe.s groups to suggest moving the 2011 All-Star game in protest, is fodder for debate. The players themselves did not really choose to play and represent Arizona as their home per s.they chose to play baseball. In this transient era, its almost by coincidence that athletes ended up in Arizona as the controversy arose. Still, the fact that perhaps the most visible national platform of any kind with regard to the State of Arizona is the Diamondbacks, and having the team get pulled into the debate shows the type of crossover brand value sports can have.

A slightly different take on the issue was put forth by the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night for their NBA Playoff game on TNT against the San Antonio Spurs. Suns owner Robert Sarver chose to put his team and his brand at the forefront of the debate by making sure all were aware that the team would wear.Los Sun. jerseys, which they have worn before, as a sign o. quiet protest against the law. The.announcemen. of the jersey change garnered national media exposure for a playoff game that probably would not have gotten much push outside of the basketball fan. It inspired some debate and created a very unique forum to show how sports can influence public consciousness. Maybe lost in all the shuffle was the fact that it was.Cinco de May. and the Suns may have been wearing those jerseys anyway (it would be even more compelling if they wore them for the rest of the series) but regardless, i. created buzz and debate and support for a cause, and showed the Phoenix community that the Suns are part of their fabric and are not a transient group of athletes. There is civic pride regardless of what side of the debate people are on. Should there be a mix of entertainment and politics with such issue. Athletes are becomin. more socially conscious and are using all forms of media to have their views and their support portrayed.? Foes that mean that every athlete who plays in Arizona has either an interest in the debate or an informed opinio. No, but that is no different from any cross section of the population. The main message that is sent in this debate is that sports, unlike any other aspect of business, has a daily, consistent.presence to inspire debate and create a forum for dialogue, and it is that powerful, constant presence that makes sports such a viable tool in the marketplace. Whether you are a brand looking for exposure or a cause looking to have a voice heard, the sports marketplace can offe. a very unique positioning point, one which is growing into new mediums over time, but one which also has the benefit of an established history and in many cases a solid mass media following on television.

Now is sports the correct forum for every cause every da. No. One of the reasons people are so passionate about sports as entertainment is that it provides a respite from all that is going on elsewhere. However when there is a cause for mass medi.Katrina, 9/11, Haiti, voter registration, substance abuse issues, now the immigration debate and hopefully assistance with the floods in Tennesse.sports provides a very interesting window into social consciousness. It has helped inspire social change in very divisive issues in the past, and will hopefully continue to do so in the future, with some very solid results.