Feud for thought

Right or wrong, at least Toni Smith has a social conscience

Maybe it's because I've spent time with so many athletes who have never protested anything more serious than a foul call, but I have a hard time working up a sense of outrage toward Toni Smith, the college basketball player who has been turning her back to the flag when the national anthem is played prior to her games. From my experience with athletes, I can promise you that there are college players out there -- not to mention more than a few pros -- who couldn't even tell you the name of the Vice President, much less make a political statement. I'd be far more concerned about them than Toni Smith.

Smith, a senior forward at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y., turns 90 degrees away from the flag to protest "the inequalities that are embedded into the American system" and "the war America will soon be entering," according the the 250-word statement she issued last week. She might be wise to hide behind a bunker herself, considering the criticism that has come raining down upon her since the media got wind of her protest. A Vietnam veteran came onto the court and held a flag in front of her during one game. UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma, while acknowledging Smith's right to express her opinion, said he would not have her on his team. One columnist called her "an immature moron," and several others took her to task for disrespecting the flag, for giving veterans a figurative slap in the face and for picking an inappropriate forum for her protest.

Let's deal with that last line of thinking first. The idea that Smith has no business bringing her political beliefs into the sporting arena is ridiculous. Every time the national anthem is played at a game, it's a political statement. Every franchise that flies the flag in its arena or stadium is making a political statement. Every athlete who stands respectfully at attention during The Star-Spangled Banner is making a political statement. If those statements are appropriate and acceptable -- and the view here is that they are -- then it's hypocritical to suggest that Smith is somehow stepping over the line by expressing opposing thoughts.

There's no question that many veterans find actions like Smith's to be personally hurtful, which is regrettable to say the least, and if Smith truly doesn't appreciate the courage of the men and women who have gone to war to defend the United States then maybe she is a moron. But contrary to what many of her critics seem to believe, it is possible to speak out against the things that are wrong with this country while still respecting the people who fought to preserve the many things that are right about it.

But perhaps I give Smith too much credit. Perhaps she really is just immature. Maybe she's a college student who thinks she's smarter than everyone who disagrees with her, who's sure that she has all the answers to the world's problems. Wow. A young person who's full of herself. That makes her about as rare as snow in December. If 25-year-old athletes can get into scrapes with the law and be excused in the court of public opinion because they're "just kids," then surely we can go easy on a college student whose greatest offense may be that her social conscience is a bit misguided.

After all, at least Smith has a social conscience. To many athletes, the big picture is no bigger than their playing field, but Smith sees much more than that. She apparently uses her brain to try to figure out more than her shooting percentage. We should spend less time bashing her for what she thinks, and save more of our anger for those athletes who don't think at all.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Phil Taylor writes about a Hot Button issue every Monday on SI.com.

 

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