Ron Rivera is the only Hispanic head coach in the NFL and in a recent interview with CNN Money, the Carolina Panthers’ leader spoke candidly about growing up the son of a Puerto Rican immigrant, his personal experiences with racism, his view on Donald Trump’s policies and even how race has affected Cam Newton as a African American quarterback.
Once news of Rivera’s interview broke, the “Stick to Sports” brigade had to have their say.
@ProFootballTalk stick to sports
— Mike T Zav (@MonstaMikeTZav) February 28, 2017
@ProFootballTalk Not debating the issue itself, but who gives a good god damn what a football coach thinks about immigration policies?
— John Colley (@colleyjj) February 28, 2017
@CoachRiv2 @YahooFinance can't we just enjoy football ????
???????????????? — Diane M Babinec (@babinec_m) February 27, 2017
@ProFootballTalk didn't Disney's stock drop because ESPN started to focus on liberal politics instead of sports?? Take note
— Matt H (@matth483) February 28, 2017
@ProFootballTalk Oh, so Rivera must leave the doors to his house unlocked, since we shouldn't lock people out…????
— Jay (@RedskinsCult) February 28, 2017
@ProFootballTalk stick to football meathead we aren't locking legal immigrants out.
— James Jarrett (@JamesAJarrett) February 28, 2017
Every time an athlete or coach decides to act like they aren’t totally consumed by their profession and show awareness about what’s going on in the country and world around them, these “stick to sports” twitter finger thugs come out. These “fans”, who often hyde behind the anonymity of a twitter profile with a fake name and picture, are one of the main things that’s wrong with sports. Athletes and coaches who have worked hard enough and are talented enough to make it to the pinnacle of sports have a platform and voice that most only dream of having. In no way should that be discouraged or muted. What’s really going on is that these silencers are afraid that more athletes will realize that they, more than them, can impact change and actually do it. So no, they shouldn’t stick to sports. They should let their voices be heard loud enough to drown out the sound of the cowardly twitter trolls who want to muzzle it.