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Sports Sponsorships and Morality

A storefront with the Nike logo.

I don’t know how much I’ve shared this on my blog, but one of the sports I follow closely is NASCAR. Yes, the same NASCAR that for the longest time has been stereotyped as a racist southern sport…and backed up those stereotypes with all of the Confederate flags that fans were able to have in the infields of racetracks. It’s also the same NASCAR that made national news when it announced a long-overdue decision not to allow said flags at NASCAR events.

While NASCAR got positive attention for this, it also ended up in a bit of controversy when news broke that one of its teams was going to have “Trump 2020” on the car for a number of races—something that happened because the Patriots of America PAC (a political action committee supporting President Donald Trump) paid $350,000 to said race team to have “Trump 2020” on the car.[1] I’m sure some Trump supporters were happy to see their candidate’s name on the car (though maybe less so upon finding out that said car has spent most of the season below 25th place in points[2]), but many have pointed out the hypocrisy of advocating for a Confederate flag ban while allowing pro-Trump sponsorship at the races. And frankly, given some of the comments that President Trump has made about matters such as the Confederate flag, Confederate statues, and Black Lives Matter, I can see why someone would think that NASCAR is being hypocritical.

However, I think the debate over “Trump 2020” on a sub-25th place car should expand beyond even whether said sponsor is moral or should be allowed. Namely, we need to have a larger conversation about sports sponsorships and morality—a conversation we don’t have often for whatever reason—because there are quite a few sponsors throughout sports that are morally questionable. And if you think I’m being overly sensitive, consider this breakdown of sponsorships and morals (or lack thereof) in a number of top sports:

  • Mars: They sponsor the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch.[3] They also have a long-standing reputation of producing chocolate with child labor.[4]
  • Nike: They are the official supplier of NFL, NBA, and MLB uniforms.[5] They’ve had a history of using sweatshops to produce their apparel and are now linked to the use of forced labor.[6]
  • Caesars Entertainment: The NFL has an official casino sponsor in Caesars Entertainment.[7] Gambling is also an addiction that can and has ruined people’s lives.
  • Adidas: Adidas has a $700 million deal with Major League Soccer,[8] and they are also linked to accusations of forced labor.[9] Like Nike, Adidas has a history of sweatshop use.
  • Red Bull: They’re everywhere. They sponsor numerous soccer/football teams, a Formula One team, and more. Energy drinks can also be harmful for one’s body.[10]

This is not an exhaustive list of sponsors with morals that are questionable, but these are some of the major ones. Still, this short list should give people a sense of how reliant so many major sports are on sponsors such as these. This list shows that it’s an issue much bigger than “Trump 2020” on a race car. It’s also an issue that seems to get ignored in the debates over whether “Trump 2020” should be on a race car to begin with, even though it would be beneficial to include the Trump car in a larger debate on where to draw the line with sports sponsorships and morals.

As to how to tackle this issue with sports and sponsors with questionable morals, I’m not sure. There most certainly is a line that many major sports have drawn with sponsors—otherwise we might still be talking about the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.[11] But as to where exactly that line is drawn, it’s something that needs to really be discussed at-length, because while I wish there wasn’t the need for any of these morally questionable sponsors to begin with, I also realize that if not for the existence of these sponsors, many people would be out of their jobs, out of their livelihoods.

What do you, the reader, think of sports sponsorships and morality? Where do you think the line should be drawn? At which point do you believe a sponsor is morally questionable enough that it should not be allowed in by a sport? You need not be a sports fan to comment below!

[1] https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/ct-nascar-political-paint-schemes-20200704-pwofhks3nbdtfhskcr4ebsnrea-story.html

[2] https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/lajoico01/2020/W

[3] https://www.mms.com/en-us/experience-mms/nascar

[4] https://blindinjusticeblog.com/2020/01/23/slavery-and-chocolate-some-not-so-sweet-truths/

[5] https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/news/companies/nike-nfl-gear-contract/index.html

[6] https://www.forbes.com/sites/siminamistreanu/2020/03/02/study-links-nike-adidas-and-apple-to-forced-uighur-labor/#41332b191003

[7] https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2019/01/03/nfl-caesars-sign-casino-sponsor-deal-minus-sports-betting/38836737/

[8] https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mls/2017/08/02/mls-gets-record-sponsorship-deal-adidas/534865001/

[9] https://www.forbes.com/sites/siminamistreanu/2020/03/02/study-links-nike-adidas-and-apple-to-forced-uighur-labor/#2c0f8bb61003

[10] The National Institutes of Health in the United States has a whole page breaking down the health impacts of energy drinks on one’s body, particularly those of teenagers and young adults: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/energy-drinks

[11] Winston, a brand of cigarettes, sponsored the top level of NASCAR for over three decades. Some of my earliest memories as a NASCAR fan come from when the top level was called the Winston Cup Series. The concerns over a cigarette brand sponsoring the series was why NASCAR changed title sponsors: https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/gallery/nascar-premier-series-names-through-the-years-120216

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A Blog Award: The Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award

During my two-week hiatus from blogging, I was nominated for the Ideal Inspiration Blog Award by Em at Invincible Woman on Wheels through this post. Thanks, Em, for the nomination!

Here are the rules for the award:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
  2. Answer your nominator’s questions.
  3. Nominate up to 9 other bloggers.
  4. Notify your nominees.
  5. Ask 5 questions.
  6. List the rules and display the “Ideal Inspiration Blogger Award ” logo.

These were the questions that Em gave me and all the other people she nominated. My answers are in bold:

  1. Where would you be right now if you could be anywhere? Jerusalem. It’s a place I’d love to go one day just because it’s an important city for multiple major religions. Of course, even without COVID-19, I’m hesitant to go there because of safety concerns.
  2. What is the best concert you’ve ever been to, or if you’ve not been to a concert, which is the concert you’d most like to go to? I’ve never been to a concert! And, honestly, I’m not sure what concert I’d like to go to, as I’ve never been much into concerts. I’m more likely to go to a baseball game. Readers should feel free to give me recommendations in the comments below!
  3. What would your perfect day consist of if you could do anything? My perfect day would start with a breakfast that includes bacon and chocolate chip pancakes with real maple syrup (none of this “breakfast syrup” nonsense that is served at many restaurants). If soccer or Formula One is on during breakfast, all the better. I’d follow that up with a short walk—walks are centering for me spiritually, as I am of the praying type and walks are a time I often pray. Then, during the day, I would just spend quality time with friends and/or family—it doesn’t matter a whole lot what I’m doing, though (as long as it’s not illegal or so boring it puts me to sleep). I don’t need a yacht or a Ferrari to have a “perfect day.”
  4. What would be your dream 3-course meal? That’s a tough call because there’s so much food I love to eat! My answer also depends on the season I’m in, as during the summer I prefer food that’s cooler (as opposed to hot comfort food in the winter). My ideal summer meal would include fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for the appetizer, breaded chicken with a bruschetta-like topping[1] for the main course, and tartufo[2] for dessert—basically, three of the four courses I can get at my favorite Italian restaurant. My ideal winter meal includes a macaroni and cheese appetizer, steak and ale pie as the entrée,[3] and a hot fudge brownie with a scoop of ice cream on top for dessert.
  5. Let’s spread a little more blog love: Who are 5 bloggers you would recommend for me to check out? I will highlight those bloggers among the nominees below!

Here are my nominees (in no particular order). Given the current climate with racial injustice in the United States, I want to highlight bloggers who are using their blogs to advocate for racial justice in their own ways, and do so regardless of whether any or all of these blogs will do their own award posts:

  1. The Ghetto Activist: If you want a blog that educates and challenges you on Black history, White privilege, and racism, this is a blog I highly recommend. Even though I was a history major in college, posts such as the one on the East St. Louis Race Riot in 1917 have educated me on things I knew nothing about before.
  2. Black Feminist Collective: If you want to follow a blogger (well, more like a set of bloggers) that is dedicated to intersectional feminism, and feminism that includes people of color, this is one to follow.
  3. We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident: When I was early in my blogging journey, Xena’s blog was one of the first ones I found that dedicated itself to anti-racism work.
  4. Katelyn Skye Bennett: This blog is currently doing a series called “Intersected,” which explores how racism touches various aspects of peoples’ lives. I highly recommend that people read this series, as it really informs people on how racism can touch us in ways some of us may not think of.
  5. Fakequity: As with Xena’s, this is a blog with a major focus on anti-racism that I’ve been following for a long time.

These are the questions for my nominees:

  1. How did you get into blogging?
  2. What made you interested in blogging on the subject(s) you blog about?
  3. How, if at all, did the pandemic change the way you blogged?
  4. How, if at all, did the recent attention on racial injustice change the way you blogged?
  5. If you could give just one piece of advice to a new blogger, what would it be?

[1] This bruschetta recipe should give an explanation of what bruschetta is: https://www.food.com/recipe/best-ever-bruschetta-443987. The difference, of course, is that instead of bread on the bottom, it’s a breaded chicken on the bottom.

[2] Tartufo is an Italian dessert that has a chocolate shell on the outside, and then on the inside two or more flavors of ice cream plus a frozen fruit or fruit syrup in the center.

[3] I feel very nostalgic about this particular dish. My family would visit a late family member in York, England, and the first place we’d visit for food after a long flight would often be this pub that had amazing steak-and-ale pies. P.S. If you’re looking for food recommendations if you visit York (whenever the pandemic comes to pass), I have a few!

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On Using Friends as a Defense Against One’s Own Prejudice

“I’m not racist. I have Black friends.”

“How can you possibly suggest that I’m homophobic? I have a lesbian friend.”

When some of us feel that we are accused of being prejudiced, we can give a response along these lines. We defend ourselves against the accusation of prejudice (whether real or perceived) by pointing out that we have a friend or friends who are of the race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, etc., that we are accused of being prejudicial toward.

This language does one thing: it uses the people you call friends as a defense against an accusation of prejudice, often without the permission of said friend or friends. This is problematic on a number of levels.

For starters, the friend(s) you’re using as a defense often have no say in whether they are actually okay with being talked about and used in such a way. Given that fact, it is unfair to put friends in the middle of a controversy surrounding your potential prejudice. Your friends didn’t do anything to merit being in the middle of a controversy of yours, so the right and compassionate thing to do is to, well, not put your friends in the middle of one of your controversies.

Even if said friend(s) were okay with being talked about in that way, the “I’m not racist” or “I’m not anti-Semitic”, comments don’t do anything to address the form of prejudice being talked about. Saying that you’re not a racist usually does nothing about the racism that does exist in our society. Saying that you’re not sexist does nothing about the sexism that does exist in our society. All it does is attempt to convince yourself or others that you are not prejudiced in a particular way.

If anything, the “I’m not ____” comments are sometimes used to defend a word, phrase, or action that is prejudiced. I’ve read people say that that “most Blacks are lazy” (not making this up), an overtly racist comment, and then defend their racism by saying that they have friends of color. I haven’t seen this happen in my conversations too often, thankfully, but when it has happened, it has been disgusting.

Finally, your friends are a poor defense against prejudice because you can have friends of a particular group and be prejudiced toward said group at the same time. Albeit, if you’re prejudiced towards a group that a friend is a part of (for example, if you struggle with ableism and your friend is physically disabled), then that likely hinders your ability to be a good friend.

All in all, I would strongly recommend against using your friends as a defense against accusations of prejudice. It does no favors to you, your friend, or the cause of reducing prejudice in our world. You’re better off responding to those accusations, whether real or perceived, with self-reflection,[1] signing petitions, and/or donating to causes that address the prejudice you’re accused of.

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[1] Sometimes, with self-reflection, you might realize that something you didn’t realize sounded offensive to you was offensive to those around you.

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Addressing the Rise in Coronavirus Cases in Some States

Coronavirus cases are increasing at drastic rates in some states. Some people are alarmed with this rise in coronavirus cases, while other people (including some elected officials) downplay the increase in cases by saying out that there’s more coronavirus testing than before, and that because of more testing, there are more cases.

I’m here to say that there is reason for alarm in some places. But the reason for alarm is not because of the increase in coronavirus cases in many places, but because many places are struggling to adequately handle coronavirus cases so severe that urgent intervention is needed.

In places hard-hit by the coronavirus, the local health care systems get completely overwhelmed by coronavirus patients. In parts of Italy, the health care system got so overwhelmed that doctors had to make heart-wrenching decisions about who to try saving and who to let die.[1] In my hometown of New York, response times for emergency calls surged significantly at the height of the coronavirus, which in turn further endangered individuals already at risk.[2] In Alabama, fellow blogger Kim reported a few weeks ago that hospitals in Montgomery were so overwhelmed that they were needing to start sending patients to Birmingham, which is 90 miles away from Montgomery; this additional wait for treatment also further endangered individuals already at risk.[3] In places like these, the health care systems get so overwhelmed that lives are put at risk or worse—lives are lost. That is reason for alarm.

But, how is one to respond to the alarm? I have five words to say: wear masks and socially distance. People should do those two things, as much as possible. I know people want to give their friends a hug, and I know that the masks can feel hot during the summer, but this is not about you. It’s about others. Namely, it’s about saving others’ lives. It’s about making sure that our emergency responders, nurses, and doctors don’t get overwhelmed. It’s about making sure that the immunocompromised don’t catch the virus and end up seriously ill (or dead) because of irresponsible actions from others. If you don’t want to wear masks and socially distance for yourself, do it for others, because wearing a mask and practicing social distancing are the two best ways to do your part to limit the spread of this pandemic.

Note that I will not have a post next Monday because of the July 4th holiday the previous Saturday.

[1] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200428-coronavirus-how-doctors-choose-who-lives-and-dies?ocid=global_future_rss

[2] https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/tracking-nycs-coronavirus-fight-from-911-call-to-er-door/2369206/

[3] https://cadburypom.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/family-fridays-9/

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My Final Coronavirus Update From New York City (For Now, and Hopefully Forever): June 25, 2020

First of all, I want to apologize to my readers for a late post this evening. I was working a meeting related to where I work, and that meeting ended literally right before I started typing this. Hence, the delay in writing and publishing this post.

I should address the elephant in the room: the title of tonight’s post. I was thinking that I would continue these weekly update posts until we got to about mid-July, which would be a month or so into the reopening process in New York City. I wanted to wait to wind down this series until mid-July because I wanted to see whether the reopening process went safely in the city first. I said all of this in a post about a month ago.

However, a lot has changed in the past month.

Namely, there are now major hotspots emerging in states like Alabama, California, Washington, Florida, and Texas. In contrast, my home state, once the epicenter of the virus, is now one of only four states on track to contain the virus.[1]

This weekly update was created so that readers could get insight into what it was like to be living in a hotspot of this horrid pandemic. However, we are most certainly not a hotspot in New York–in fact, we’re likely one of the safest places to be in right now, from a COVID-19 standpoint. Given how much the situation is under control here, I’ve concluded that these weekly updates have run their course.

This is not to say that the pandemic is over, by any means. Far from it. The end of this series just means that the pandemic is under control enough in my area, at least for the time being, that I didn’t feel it was right to continue these weekly updates. Of course, if the dreaded second wave comes to New York, I would resume my weekly updates. I sincerely hope we don’t have a second wave, though.

Nor should anyone interpret the end of this series as a sign to stop practicing the mask-wearing and the social distancing, even if you live in New York. In fact, this series would be continuing for many weeks to come if not for the fact that so many New Yorkers were on board with wearing their masks and social distancing.

I want to thank all of you, my readers, for being a part of this journey by liking, commenting, and sharing these posts. It has been a wild and at times trying journey, but a journey that I am thankful to have survived in good health, and a journey that I’m glad I documented.

[1] https://covidactnow.org/state/NY?s=56971