By opposing Trump, activist athletes helped America rediscover its conscience

The maintenance of liberty is a best-of-infinity series, and so that noble and complicated quest continues. By electing Joe Biden and Kamala D. Harris as the next president and vice president, the United States has given conventional governing a mandate to go back to work. And in light of the defeated incumbent president’s craven disregard for a democratic system that didn’t benefit him, let’s do this one special recount: Whose protest stands as more appropriate for who we are as a country?

Who actually got fired for wanting the nation to be different?

Rather than remain docile and delight in unconditional diversion, sports intensified a desire to choose a different aim over the past four years. They decided to help hold together the conscience of America. They don’t deserve an inordinate amount of credit, but their contributions were meaningful and noticeable, right down to Atlanta voters flocking to State Farm Arena to help decide the election.

In the sports world, the activism started with athletes turning up the volume on denouncing police brutality and calling for racial equality. Then they forged a true partnership with everyone in their realm: Coaches, executives, owners and referees were all participants. Later came a universal commitment to educate, empower and energize voters that included everything from transforming athletic facilities into voting centers to raising $27 million to eliminate the court costs that would have prevented some formerly imprisoned Floridians from voting.

WNBA players such as Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud took the season off to fight for justice. After George Floyd’s death, NFL stars produced a video that moved their commissioner, Roger Goodell, to change his tone about protesting players. No longer did the Trumpian admonishments of “stick to sports” and “shut up and dribble” hold power. While not everyone in sports thinks the same, there was unified recognition that this was a time to be more than complacent entertainment.

The building of this motley coalition in sports, one that transcended partisan passion, mirrored what happened throughout the nation. Instead of being frightened by polarity within their diverse fan bases, teams opted to consider their moral responsibility. They had to do so. The players demanded it. And here’s the thing that Trump and many others ignored when they disparaged and brushed aside some of the country’s greatest icons: They are not disposable. They are singular. They cannot be fired simply for voicing their concerns. And considering our deep love of sports, they cannot be boycotted by large enough numbers, either. Not for pleading for the police to stop killing unarmed Black citizens. Not for encouraging folks to vote. Not for challenging America to be America.

During his first speech as president-elect Saturday night, Biden framed our complications. “Our nation is shaped by the constant battle between our better angels and our darkest impulses,” he said. “It is time for our better angels to prevail.”

In that sense, the takeaway isn’t that the Democratic nominee prevailed. It isn’t that the Republican incumbent lost. What matters is that the country’s conscience reclaimed its place. And for certain, our conscience has great hand-eye coordination.

We should be celebrating the record turnout during a pandemic. That was something Trump didn’t seem to want, not if it meant losing. These votes, nearly 150 million and counting, are not random numbers to be gazed upon like a quarterback’s passing yardage. They represent people, and in many cases they represent ancestors who sacrificed, bled and even died for the right to vote. It should be an unpardonable sin for Trump to attempt to tarnish the process and declare an election illegitimate without concrete evidence. But it’s just his latest and greatest lie.

So, again, I wonder: Whose protest is disrespecting the flag?

Whose protest is a referendum on patriotism?

Whose protest fails to honor something our military defends valiantly?

Athletes shout that Black lives matter, and for some reason, it warrants debate. Trump is shouting a message much more divisive and sinister: Nothing matters. Stop the count. No, count the votes. Trust Arizona. Don’t trust Philadelphia. Make America confused again.

In sports, people must respect truth. In triumph and failure, they must get to the why, analyze even the ugly stuff and grow. Reality must be accepted, no matter how hard to swallow, because the next challenge is imminent. The best teams learn and perfect. The worst ones whine and lie to themselves. Winning is a pursuit, not a promise. And losing isn’t only fodder for grievance. It clarifies how to be successful.

Sports are in the business of competition and joy. People in this world know when spirit is lacking, when fairness is being threatened and when lessons need to be learned. During this tumultuous time in American history, sports came together and transformed into better angels because they look at life that clearly. The diversity within athletics compels the participants to do so.

In the end, the people who saved democracy from Trumpism were the people the president targeted the most with his racist, misogynistic and extremist-wooing rhetoric. They didn’t do it because Biden said everything they wanted to hear and made ironclad promises. They didn’t even do it because they dislike Trump so fervently. They did it because, for all the oppression they have endured, they still love and believe in America. They prefer improvement over chaos.

Sports reflect this unwavering affinity.

“It’s amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back,” said Doc Rivers, then the coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, referring to the persistence of Black people after the Blake shooting. “It’s really so sad.”

He wept that August day. In this year of tragedy and suffering, many sports figures dared to be so vulnerable. They just wanted people who cheer for them to care, to get out of their trance, to reconsider. To help the nation reset itself.

Maybe now there’s a chance.