Sports writers who have completely sold out for social justice this weekend told two Republican U.S. senators to shut up and stick to sports. Nancy Armour, a social justice pitbull for the USA Today sports lite section, ridiculed Senators Kelly Loeffler of Georgia and Josh Hawley of Missouri for publicly opposing pro basketball's acquiescence to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Jason Reid, who writes for ESPN's blog The Undefeated, endorsed Armour's attack on the conservative politicians.
Last week, Sen. Loeffler, a co-owner of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream, sent a letter to Commissioner Cathy Engelbert exposing the radical nature of BLM and asking the league to require every player's jersey include a U.S. flag. Sen. Hawley wrote to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver criticizing the gutless league for putting profits over offending China for its suppression of Hong Kong.
Media reaction to these infidels was swift and vicious. Fox Sports 1's Shannon Sharpe called for Sen. Loeffler to be removed as a WNBA owner. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski fired off an F-bomb at Sen. Hawley. Armour, who calls Wojnarowski's vulgar outburst a "boost" to the social justice movement, is shouting them down, too:
"Josh Hawley and Kelly Loeffler’s displays of faux outrage are as unoriginal as they are distasteful.
"Eager – or, in Loeffler’s case, desperate – to bolster their conservative credentials, the Republican senators didn’t just borrow a page from President Donald Trump’s race-baiting, base-riling playbook, they shamelessly plagiarized the entire thing. But in trying to 'own the libs,' all they’ve done is reveal themselves to be small-minded politicians who can neither think for themselves nor offer anything but hate and divisiveness."
Neither senator has the moral high ground, Armour writes. Polls show support for Black Lives Matter and athlete protests, and there is growing recognition that liberty and justice is not available to all, she writes. "It is Trump, and those who parrot his bigotry, who are the outliers."
To think the progressive WNBA and NBA will stand down instead of riding the surging tide of activism is disingenuous, Armour contends:
"To suggest the NBA and WNBA stay silent while even NASCAR and the NFL use their platforms to call for badly needed change is nothing more than a blatant attempt to pander to Trump and his supporters."
USA Today recounts how Renee Montgomery, a multi-millionaire who plays for Sen. Loeffler's Atlanta Dream team (and who was fired by a team for breach of contract in 2011), plans to sit out the 2020 season in order for focus on social justice issues, sent a snarky letter to the team's owner:
"I know you have a tough upcoming election in November and must appeal to your base. I get it, I do. But to say sports shouldn’t mingle with politics denies our past. ... While you might very well be on the `right' side of this November’s elections, you are on the wrong side of history if you can’t see that Black Lives Matter."
Armour complained about athletes being told that their opinions outside of sports are irrelevant and that they should just "shut up and play." "For Hawley and Loeffler, they really should shut up and stick to politics."
Jason Reid re-posted Armour's hit piece on Twitter, along with the comment, "Yep, Armour brought it."
