Commentary: The collisions between sports and politics underscore our need for tolerance of dissent
The intersection of sports and politics has occasionally been fraught with controversy. Amid the civil rights movement, Muhammad Ali was briefly banned from boxing for his stance on the Vietnam War. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were subject to significant criticism for raising their fists in a salute to Black power at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Those examples are blips on the radar, though, compared with the unifying effect of sports over the decades.
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there were many such moments — most notably, perhaps, was George W. Bush’s first pitch
