OT: How much do players personal believes effect your following of them and their team?

[LGITB]

I want to start off by saying that English is not my native language so apologies in advance.
This has been on my mind for a while and I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on this - if you find out that a player you like and follow has contentions political or religious believes, does that affect your attitude toward them and their team?

I'm not going to give any examples because I'm not looking to get into a political discussion, but hope I explained myself clearly. I'm struggling with this question myself.

 

[Bigboote]

I don’t care whether they believe in Cthulhu or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, nor do I know that about 90% of the WNBA players or 99% of NCAA players.

If I somehow learned that someone was spewing hatred, that might cross a line, but since I don’t watch or listen to sports bloviating chat shows, I’d be unlikely to find out.

 

[bballnut90]

As long as they aren’t spewing venom/hate/negativity I don’t let their political/religious affiliation affect my view of them. I think it’s good to be exposed to people with different viewpoints and experiences so you can better understand why someone thinks the way they do even if you don’t see eye to eye with them.

 

[visitingcock]

I don’t care whether they believe in Cthulhu or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, nor do I know that about 90% of the WNBA players or 99% of NCAA players.

If I somehow learned that someone was spewing hatred, that might cross a line, but since I don’t watch or listen to sports bloviating chat shows, I’d be unlikely to find out.

"Hate," like most beliefs is often a two-way street. Too many people scream about hate flowing in one direction while tolerating or supporting its flow in the other.

As a Libertarian, I'm pretty much a total free speech supporter. Political and religious speech are particularly protected by the Constitution.

Of course, you an't yell "fire" in a theater. You can't exhort a crowd to commit acts of violence. spewing hatred? They can "spew hatred" as long as it is not being terroristic or exhorting others to commit acts of violence.

"Hateable" speech is not unprotected speech. But, yeah I am gonna judge the speaker as an undesireable person to follow and cease to be a fan.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I don't particularly care about folks personal beliefs. As others have said, if you play for my team and are not a distraction, I'm good, even if your beliefs don't agree with mine. I do think folks in sports should use their platforms to advocate for what they believe in - but there is a responsibility side to that.

 

[Dillon77]

As long as they aren’t spewing venom/hate/negativity I don’t let their political/religious affiliation affect my view of them. I think it’s good to be exposed to people with different viewpoints and experiences so you can better understand why someone thinks the way they do even if you don’t see eye to eye with them.

Well said here
and here by @KnightBridgeAZ : "I do think folks in sports should use their platforms to advocate for what they believe in - but there is a responsibility side to that."

Or as my mom and countless others would say: treat others as you'd like to be treated yourself.

 

[Rowdy831]

I watch basketball to watch basketball players doing something they hopefully do well. If they do their job properly they should know as much about my political beliefs as I do theirs which is zero. Now if they feel like it is important to use their platform to promote something other than basketball then I may decide that player is not one I would like to support or watch.

When people come to me they do it for my expertise in a certain arena. If I decide to share my "amateur" opinions on other things then I am taking the risk of losing a fan of my professional services at the expense of my beliefs which may be wrong or right, really doesn't matter. I would say very few people care about your thoughts on a subject until you think it is your job to share them.

 

[GamecockFam]

I watch basketball to watch basketball players doing something they hopefully do well. If they do their job properly they should know as much about my political beliefs as I do theirs which is zero. Now if they feel like it is important to use their platform to promote something other than basketball then I may decide that player is not one I would like to support or watch.

When people come to me they do it for my expertise in a certain arena. If I decide to share my "amateur" opinions on other things then I am taking the risk of losing a fan of my professional services at the expense of my beliefs which may be wrong or right, really doesn't matter. I would say very few people care about your thoughts on a subject until you think it is your job to share them.

When you say "using their platform" do you mean during a function related to their profession (e.g. player interviews, wearing political clothing during a game, speeches during award ceremonies, etc.) or do you mean on their personal time (e.g., social media, etc.)? Or both?

I would frown upon using their professional platform to promote political or religious opinions. But I wouldn't care if they post religious or political beliefs on their personal social media accounts. I would still support the team/players with differing opinions, unless I thought (as @bballnut90 said) those opinions were filled with venom.

 

[DRR25]

If a player or coach espoused bigotry (racist, sexist, anti-LGBT, etc. views) then it does affect my attitude toward them. I've been lucky with WBB in that none of the players I like have stated any such views (at least not publicly). There has been a coach or two (e.g., Mulkey) whose teams I like to watch but don't care for the coach's political views. And this year I've had to deal with not letting the political or religious views, not those of a player or a team but certain fans of a player (Caitlin Clark), affect my attitude toward the player. A good chunk of those fans (some aren't actually fans) espouse toxic, racist, homophobic views and I had to remind myself not to hold a negative view of Clark and Iowa because of what many of those folks were writing/saying.

 

[DEpup]

Yes it does. Money is really what drives things and almost everything can be monetized. So for me, if I follow and give clicks to a player who openly expresses extreme political or religious beliefs than I in turn would actually be supporting their beliefs in the market place. I am very careful with who I support with my money and anything that could be monetized like social media following.

 

[temery]

Absolutely no politics.

Locked