Since Donald Trump officially took office January 20th, he has put a lightning blitz on America as we knew it. He wasted no time granting clemency to every person charged or convicted for their role in the Jan 6th insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. He signed a plethora of executive orders that mirror the controversial, far right extremist Project 2025 document which he repeatedly denied and attempted to distance himself from during his campaign. In fact, Time Magazine reported that nearly 2/3rds of his Executive Orders mirror the 900 page document.
Trump immediately eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion in both the government and private sector, empowered ICE to enforce deportation of immigrants in churches, schools and courthouses, proposed turning Guantanamo Bey into “detention centers” to hold up to 30,000 migrants, restricted funding for K-12 schools that don’t teach history to his liking, replaced career civil servants with political appointees dedicated to his agenda, ordered the National Institute of Health to eliminate review boards on cancer research, directed the Department Of Labor to stop investigating workplace discrimination, he rescinded his pause on all federal grants and loans only after intense backlash, he moved quickly to remake the Department Of Homeland Security by firing heads of TSA, Coast Guard and gutted key aviation advisory committee but blamed the fatal helicopter that crashed into the plane ending in 70 fatalities on DEI, and the list goes on and on.
Even many Trump supporters are experiencing buyers remorse as the “Finding Out Phase” as termed on social media continues to educate the masses on what they actually voted for with this Trump administration.
However, It seems like athletes have gone a little quiet as far as the vocal resistance to Trump throughout the elections and after the inauguration compared to the previous term. So I wanted to sit down with someone who is the epitome of the athlete activist, someone who didn’t hesitate to stand up for what he believed in even in the face of enormous backlash from every sphere of the country. And that is the great Mahmoud Abdul Rauf
Etan: Mr Rauf, do you think athletes have gone a little quiet since Trump has taken office ? How important is it for athletes, and we’ll get to everyone else because I think it’s important for everyone to use their voices, not just athletes. But athletes in particular, how important is it for athletes to not go quiet
Abdul-Rauf: I’m glad you made that point because it’s definitely not just athletes, but for the context of this discussion, we can focus on athletes and yes it’s super important Etan. I can’t help but think of years ago, J Edgar Hoover was discussing the power of the athlete. And how their goal was to shift it from the Muhammad Ali types to the more quiet type of athlete because they recognize the power that athletes had to influence. Especially an athlete that’s articulate and knows how to communicate and is current with all of the issues. So, there is an enormous amount of power that a lot of them still I believe don’t realize that they have.
Etan: A lot of the reasoning given as to why athletes may be more reluctant to speak out now is because they are making so much more money and have much more to lose.
Abdul-Rauf: Well, to whom much is given much is expected. And some times, we reach a certain height and we know where we come from, but we allow the trappings of success or materialism and we think in terms of a loss but we don’t think in terms of collectivism and that we are all bound in this dreadful situation together. So this is why it’s always necessary for everyone but especially in those positions. Sometimes, people are quiet when they’re trying to get ahead in fear of messing up their chances to succeed, and I understand that. But when you get to a point where you are making millions and your finances are all taken care of, you would think that it would embolden you even more. But for so many of us, it makes it even worse. But yes it is extremely important, they have a voice, so many people listen to us. Whether we’re retired or not. Sometimes, people listen to athletes more than they will various academics who have studied the issues continuously.
Etan: Athlete Activism has come in waves. You go through the 60’s and then you skip to the time of yourself and Craig Hodges, then it was quiet for awhile. But then you get to the era where Trayvon Martin happened and Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Terence Crutcher, Tamir Rice, George Floyd and so many others who were killed by police we being magnified and Black Lives Matter and you had a resurgence of athletes that were using their voices and speaking out against the system but the fear is, has that time now passed and athletes are going to go back to being quiet ?
I interviewed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in my book We Matter “Athletes And Activism” and he said
“The reason why those people focus on athletes is because their additional status in their community among their peers fans and the entire country means they have power and can really influence people. And of course just think of it logically, if you have someone with that type of power and influence, pushing for something you don’t agree with, of course they are going to try to do whatever they can to silence them, because they are a threat to them.“
Abdul-Rauf: I remember that in your book and Mr Abdul Jabbar was absolutely correct. So athletes having that power, have to prepare themselves for that responsibility. And if you want to improve on anything, you have to practice. That goes for on the court as well as off the court. You have to prepare yourself for the criticism and prepare yourself for the backlash and how you’re going to withstand that.
We have to prepare ourselves just like we do on the basketball court. There are carry overs to everything. Just as we train, plan, and strategize to overcome the opponent, exploit their weaknesses, capitalize on your strengths to win the game, that same strategic analysis has to be applied in real life. You can’t lose those lessons. It has to carry over.
And let me add to that, the more athletes surround themselves with people who can influence them in a positive way, the better
Etan: Like Muhammad Ali being mentored by Malcolm X
Abdul-Rauf: Exactly. Without the influence of Malcolm X, we may have only known Muhammad Ali as the greatest boxer of all time. And that would’ve been tragic. An athlete can be utilized as a mouthpiece to wake up the masses to something they should’ve already been awake to but because an athlete says it, they pay more attention. It shouldn’t be that way of course, but a lot of times, that’s the reality. But honestly, the masses shouldn’t need anyone to point out what is clear and evident in front of your face. It is amazing that a small cabal of people have convinced the masses to accept their oppression while the masses know they are being oppressed
Etan: Like Trump getting the masses to vote against their own interests for a 2nd time
Abdul Rauf: Exactly yes.
So to answer your original question, it’s mandatory. Too much is at stake for athletes to be quiet. I have conversations with different athletes all the time, just as I’m sure you do.
Different races, ages, colors, coaches, administrators, everyone. But I also have conversations with different people of everyday life all the time not just athletes, people from all races, backgrounds, owners of companies, people in the workforce etc but so many people are afraid to make it public. They got us so fearful right now.
Etan: Almost like everyone is afraid to stand up to the school bully. The whole reason I wrote the book We Matter “Athletes And Activism” is because I wanted to praise the current athletes who were using their voices and taking on the criticism and backlash and showing the younger athletes that they can follow suit. They don’t have to be afraid. If you talk about Lebron, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, in terms of the top earners, the top at their craft, top in marketing and endorsements and business deals and they were using their voices and withstanding backlash like shut up and dribble attacks and stay in your lane and how dare they not want to visit the White House. In fact, Trump publicly criticized Lebron by name on multiple occasions because he knows the magnitude of the athlete voice.
Abdul-Rauf: And they should look at all of those criticisms as a compliment. If the powers that be are speaking highly of you, in a system that doesn’t mean you or your people well, if those people are praising you, you should be concerned and re examine yourself to ask why are they praising me ? Because they always have an angle. They are always trying to manipulate and conform to fit their agenda. But on the flip side, if they are going out of their way to tear you down, that means you are doing something very right and hitting the right buttons. If you’re talking about justice and equality and human decency and you’re criticized for that, like the phrase coined by Civil Rights leader John Lewis “Good Trouble” well that’s Good Criticism or Good Backlash
Etan: I like that. Let me ask you this, one of the things the current athlete has that you didn’t have in your day is social media. So they don’t have to wait for a reporter or media outlet to interpret what their message is. They have the power to construct their own message however they want to. But power unrecognized is just a waste
Abdul-Rauf: Listen, I wish we would’ve had social media back in the day. There is so much power in that, they don’t even realize. Being able to control your own narrative and get your own message out the way you want to is invaluable.
And to add to that, now athletes have the ability to feel the support of the community for them through social media. So just as you can feel the backlash, you can also feel support. We didn’t have that when we were coming up. We kind of felt like we were on an island by ourselves because we only heard the media backlash. So yes social media plays a big difference in many ways.
Etan: Ok final thought
Abdul-Rauf: Ok, let me end it with this. If you’re really about human freedom and justice you have no choice. With everything going on right now, it’s crucial for everyone to use whatever platform they have not just athletes but everyone. I want to make that point clear. We can’t put this all on athletes even though we know and understand the level of influence athletes have. Silence is acceptance, compliance and ultimately agreement with the status quo. The Germans were silent during Hitler’s rise and how did that work out for them ? It was Huey P Newton who said, “ I do not think life will change for the better without an assault on the Establishment”
So with the magnitude of where we are right now, there is no middle ground. Either you’re part of the solution, or you’re part of the problem. And that goes for everyone, not just athletes
