Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing
Let the whole world know that today is a day of reckoning
Let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong
Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay it’s Independence Day
Roll the stone away
It’s Independence day ~Gretchen Peters & Martina McBride
Sports can be medicine, but they can also devastate someone’s life. On one hand, sports can motivate society to change, to learn to evolve and grow. Then, there is the other hand where sports cause some to believe they are so powerful over others they become seduced into thinking nothing can happen to them for crossing the line.
That normal trash talk fans share amongst themselves can cross the lines. Those comments have nothing to do with any of these women’s ability to deliver their respective sports product. Offensive jokes, slurs, name calling, offensive depictions about physical or mental attributes a female reporter may have been called by a fan can all be a form of harassment. Females who actively participate in the sports industry are often at the receiving end of harassment. Harassment is discrimination. It is the unwelcome conduct that is based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability or genetic information.
Enter in Megan Rapinoe. President Donald Trump has continuely harassed Rapinoe because she has decided to use her platform as a member of the United States Women’s National Team (soccer) to fight discrimination and seek justice for all. But Trump hasn’t agreed with athletes using their platform to help society to seek a better way:
Women’s soccer player, @mPinoe, just stated that she is “not going to the F…ing White House if we win.” Other than the NBA, which now refuses to call owners, owners (please explain that I just got Criminal Justice Reform passed, Black unemployment is at the lowest level…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2019
….invited Megan or the team, but I am now inviting the TEAM, win or lose. Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team. Be proud of the Flag that you wear. The USA is doing GREAT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2019
But her friend and teammate stepped up and had Megan’s back:
“I refuse to respect a man that warrants no respect.”
— CNN (@CNN) July 4, 2019
US soccer player Ali Krieger, who blasted President Trump and defended Megan Rapinoe during their war of words, said she would “absolutely not” go to the White House if they win the World Cup. https://t.co/V6MAXWfT9c pic.twitter.com/pMiVluX81q
That is how one woman, especially in sports, supports another woman. That’s friendship, and friendship is a form of medicine just like sports. Jackie Robinson, Willie O’Ree, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Lesley Visser, Pam Oliver, Jeanie Buss, Amy Trask, Kristen Kuliga, Kelli Masters, Ernie Davis, Branch Rickey, Jen Welter, Becky Hammond, Curt Flood, Colin Kaepernick and Megan Rapinoe are all medicine. They are and have taught us that the world may say no but there is still hope.
The world changes . . . sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Luckily, sports has been there to help guide the changes. Sports figures and organizations have been medicine for nearily a century.
Medicine is created to heal. In this case, it is listening, opening our eyes, and trying to understand one another. It is about the necessary discussions that need to take place to make the world better for our children as well as ourselves. It is about progress instead of the recent regress. These brave individuals and organizations are fighting to give us medicine, but the question remains whether we will take it and get well.
President Trump, it is time you took your medicine and realize it’s time to open your eyes and ears to the true reality of these United States. It is time we find our true Independence Day and let freedom ring for all of its citizens.
Source: Martina McBride