“And regardless if he is a starter or a backup, it doesn’t matter. His opinion and his rights are the same as a guy making a hundred million or a guy making ten dollars an hour.”~Cris Carter*

The answer to that depends on who you ask, and the answer may be as complicated as determining what being selfish truly means. Selfish is often described as being stingy or only concerned about oneself or not caring about other people. It is a phrase that has often been used to describe our professional athletes.

However, there are times when selfish is used to guilt or manipulate someone into doing something that is not the correct course for him or her. For example, spending less time with a family member or significant other because the athlete needs to train or rehab is not being selfish. Nor is the athlete’s refusal to sign an autograph for a fan while she is out on a date with her husband or hanging with her friends. On the other hand, an athlete shrugging his responsibility to those people for excessive training or partying is being selfish.

On the show, We Need To Talk, sports journalist, Aditi Kinkhabwala, mentions she spoke to Jim Brown the day before Muhammad Ali’s funeral. During that conversation, Kinkhabwala asked Brown if he thought today’s athletes were willing to take a stand like Ali did regarding the war. Brown’s response without hesitation to her was “absolutely not. . . because of money.” That’s an implication that today’s athlete is selfish . . . that he relishes money more than the welfare of his fellow man.

The question is: is it true? Are professional and collegiate, or even high school or amateur, athletes to concerned with their own personal brand, endorsements and safety to truly care about the plight of those less fortunate? On the surface, it does appear to be true for the majority of athletes. For every LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, J.T. Brown or the ladies within the WNBA, there are hundreds more who are not willing to risk endorsements, fans, playing time or their standing within their own culture or team.

Fear overtakes some while not others, so perhaps it is fear that holds some athletes back in regards to taking a stand on the current protests being held by fellow athletes. I am unsure which is worse: the fact some athletes will not participate when they believe in a fellow athlete’s protest, or the fact they state they have no opinion on the subject matter perpetuating the idiotic adage of “dumb jock.” The latter scenario implies that the athlete is either lying or is out-of-touch with the world his fans work and reside in.

And yes, it is easier for an athlete to take up causes that deal with diseases or children. But the children that those athletes are working with need a better future outside of the athletic arena as well . . . those children need a safe place to call home or country. Those children who never asked to be birthed deserve to have adults–to have heroes–who are willing to take a stance so they do not have to face discrimination or fear that being in the wrong place at the wrong time will end their lives by a police officer too quick to fire a gun instead of calmly assessing a situation through conversation.

The blame is not just the athlete who is either selfish or afraid. The blame is also ours as a society. In the words of Amy Trask, former Oakland Raider CEO, “It is absolutely unfair of us as a society, as a collective group, to both criticize athletes for not doing anything to improve society, to improve the community, and then to go nutty and criticize them when they do.”

We, as a society, as a community, need to take that stance with our athletes. In psychology, there is something known as the mirroring effect–reflect the actions back to those who we either want them to continue or discontinue their current behavior. That means we need to support their protests, their charities, and when companies, leagues or teams pull the endorsements or unfairly penalize those players it means us fans, aka society, pull our endorsements of those companies, leagues and teams.

We as a society stand with our athletes, then we can further the conversation and make this world a little bit better for all of our children.

Quotes were quoted by their individual authors on two different television programs: Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons (HBO S1|E10) and We Need To Talk (CBS Sports September 13, 2016).