Shining Star

It was absolutely refreshing on Sunday morning to watch United States Olympic gold medalist Jack Hughes in the post-game interview after he scored the golden goal to win the gold medal for the United States hockey team. He said, “This is all about our country right now. I love the USA; I love my teammates … the USA hockey brotherhood is so strong. I’m so proud to be American tonight.” He didn’t talk about himself, or the fact that he got two teeth knocked out by a high stick late in the 3^rd period only to continue to play and score the game-winner in overtime. He pointed the spotlight on everyone else. He expressed how much he loved the United States, how much he loved his fellow teammates, how proud he was of United States hockey. He gave credit to those around him, the goaltender, his teammates. He did not make it about himself. It was a very humble yet patriotic statement, which was an extreme departure from the types of interviews that we’ve been listening to from the United States athletes through the course of these games.

Sadly, many United States Olympians believed that earning the right to be on the US Olympic team, meant that they suddenly had a platform to espouse their political beliefs and tell the world that they were almost ashamed to be wearing the colors and the flag of the United States of America. That’s not representing the USA. Yes, they have the right to speak their minds; yes, they have the right to disagree with US policy – that’s all part and parcel of being a United States citizen. The issue is the time and place in which they chose to express their opinions.

Being a citizen of a country is like being in a marriage. Do you love your spouse? Of course you do. Do you agree with everything that your spouse does? Of course you don’t. The question is when and where do you express your disagreement with your spouse? Do you go on social media and lay out everything that’s wrong with your spouse for the rest of the world to see? Do you go to the PTA meeting and tell all the other parents bad things about your spouse? Or do you sit down in the privacy of your home and have a legitimate productive discussion with your spouse based in love? No marriage is perfect. And no spouse has ever agreed with their partner on everything. But you express your love by the way you express your disagreement with your spouse. And likewise, you express your love of country by how you express your disagreement with certain policies of your country.

Going to the Olympics and using that stage to trash your country is not showing your country any love. Participating in violent protests in which you attack federal law-enforcement is not showing your country any love. Burning the American flag is not showing your country any love. Attempting to assassinate the President is not showing your country any love.

The problem with political statements from an athletic platform is that they are making an argument from authority when that platform does not legitimize the authority that they are grounding their argument in. World class athlete does not mean you are an expert in United States foreign policy or border policy. They are attempting to transfer their expertise in a sport to the field of politics where they are a complete novice. Their opinions are not any more valuable than the guy sitting at the end of the bar yelling at the television screen. That is why they are better off keeping their comments to their sport. And if they choose to speak on a political issue, it is only worthwhile if it is a rational argument based on facts and evidence and not just spewing your biased opinions.

The public statements that many of these United States athletes made against America were all about themselves, and their egos. They are all virtue signaling to gain some social media moral street cred. It’s all about how they are going to be perceived moving forward. Being a world-class athlete is no longer enough for their egos; they also have a need to be seen as some highly virtuous public figure when all they are really doing is expressing their narrow political opinions and pushing their own political propaganda. It is never about the people or the issues that they claim they are standing up for. It’s all about how they will be perceived. They want to show the world that they are more than just an athlete, but by attempting to do so, they proved that they are much less. Whereas Jack Hughes shone the brightest when he chose to turn the spotlight on his teammates, his team and his country.

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Mr. Garrett is a graduate of Princeton University, and a former NFL player, coach, and executive. He has been a contributor to the website Real Clear Politics. He has recently published his first novel, No Wind.