Social media is one of those inventions that we’ll wonder about for generations to come. There are some great things about it. And there are some not-so-great things about it either. It seems like everything good has a negative correlation. For example, it is cool that fans can know what a certain Packers or Bucks player is doing but it sucks that they’re not able to give their opinion on something without someone disagreeing in the mentions. Many athletes have spoken out over the injustice of George Floyd, and many Wisconsin athletes like Davante Adams, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jace Sternberger, Adrian Amos, Robin Lopez, and countless others.

Athletes should be allowed to say whatever they want and whenever they want. This isn’t some ‘ don’t stick to sports’ mantra here which is a phrase that makes me want to hurl. Rather it is letting all of these athletes speak their peace and have an opinion. They have a right to that. Just like you and me. There is no need to reply to them with an opinion of your own. Say it in your feed or screenshot it to have a conversation with someone else offline. They should be allowed to grieve and voice change like the rest of us.

On the same token, if an athlete doesn’t speak out. That is not worth shaming him for. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t said a thing yet, but that’s not something we should take him to task about. Rodgers is a guy who stays updated with the news, so, I’m sure he’s watching what is going on across this country. The same goes for Khris Middleton. Just because these guys aren’t using social media to speak out doesn’t mean they’re ignorant of the situation in our country right now. Not everyone wants to use social media that way, and that’s an okay thing. We need to accept both sides of this coin.

Let’s hope that athletes can help drive the message further and prompt some change in our society.

Charlie.