Mets RF Curtis Granderson is not "publicly backing" any presidential candidate, but he "doesn't understand why there is a belief that people involved in sports shouldn't be allowed to speak out about" the issue, according to Anthony Rieber of NEWSDAY. Granderson said, "I think it's been something that's been discussed over the last few years, from the early part of my career to now: 'Stay away from it.' But they don't really say why." He added, "Considering it's such a big thing in our culture and shapes the way things are going to move and shake, I'm kind of confused why you can't voice your opinion on how you feel. It's just your opinion. You're going to vote one way or another. You're going to vote for this person or that person, so I don't see anything wrong with speaking up about it." Rieber notes talk this week revolved around former MLBers Paul O'Neill and Johnny Damon endorsing Donald Trump, while NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France had to "issue a statement saying that his was a personal endorsement and that he was not speaking for NASCAR." Rieber: "Each Trump supporter has faced a backlash of some sort." Granderson said, "There needs to be a little leeway. I mean, everyone else discusses it at the workplace. This is still a job. ... It's a topic of conversation for everyone. So why can't an athlete say something?" (NEWSDAY, 3/11). In N.Y., Andy Martino writes it needs to be understood that MLB is a league "deeply rooted in right-wing politics, and that it is easier to endorse a racist than be boldly and publicly progressive." Martino: "Bigots are everywhere in big-league clubhouses. And when an athlete goes hard right, he remains on the side of money and power." Fans should "realize that O'Neill and Damon made their proclamations in a specific context, one that makes conservatism far less risky than progressivism." Neither should "expect much blowback from colleagues" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/11).
TONE DEAF? ESPN.com held a roundtable with its NASCAR reporters and discussed France's endorsement of Trump and the subsequent blowback. ESPN's Ricky Craven said, "When you're leading a company that employs hundreds, leading a company that attracts among the largest groups of customers of any sport, in any country, why would you risk offending at least half of them? ... Power and influence granted to you by years and years of customer loyalty should never be leveraged politically." ESPN The Magazine's Ryan McGee said, "The timing of it was simply tone-deaf, on multiple levels. First, to think that his appearance with Trump would be viewed as a personal endorsement, that everyone was supposed to suddenly separate his face and name from the NASCAR brand ... there's no way he really believed that, right? Second, in talking to employees at NASCAR, it's very obvious that most had no idea this was coming before it happened. It's incredible to me that they wouldn't have been given a heads up." ESPN.com's John Oreovicz added France "demonstrated incredibly poor judgment by making such a public endorsement, whether it was personal or as the face and mouthpiece of NASCAR. In the current political climate in America, it could almost be considered reckless behavior." ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass: "France sent the message that he is a tone-deaf leader. Speaking at a rally for any candidate ... isn't wise for the leader of a sport fueled by corporate dollars." ESPN's Marty Smith said, "He can endorse whomever he wants -- that's his right as an American citizen. But as the leader of a private company whose lifeblood is corporate dollars, it's a puzzling decision to endorse anyone" (ESPN.com, 3/10).
