Win first, then promote the cause
Aaron Rodgers is passionate about the crisis in the Congo but if he wants to see change he should start on the field of play
In 1967, recently retired star running back Jim Brown summoned some of the top black athletes of the day to his office in Cleveland so they could listen first hand to Muhammad Ali explain why he was refusing to fight in the Vietnam war. Seated at the front table were Boston Celtics player coach Bill Russell, the first black head coach in any American sport and the greatest champion in the history of the NBA, Ali and Brown, considered by many to be the greatest football player ever, as well as 20-year-old UCLA sophomore sensation Lew Alcindor, who would soon become Kareem Abdul Jabbar and eventually the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
At the time Ali was a pariah in mainstream America, a crusading and unyielding draft dodger, and to be seen supporting him was fraught with professional peril. But this was old-school activism where the cause outweighed the risk and all four would not only become known as some of the greatest sportsmen ever, but some of the most principled. Brown, in particular, is still active and while he has had to deal with issues in the past over domestic violence, he is relentless in working with at-risk inner-city youth.
He is also relentless in his criticism of the pampered and insular modern athlete, once referring to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods as both being "bankrupt when it comes to social awareness". Brown, however, is impressed by another young superstar who is throwing himself wholeheartedly into activism in the hope of affecting meaningful change, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
As the NFL starts its second season this weekend with four play-off games, the match-up between the San Francisco 49ers and Rodgers' Packers is by far the most anticipated. For the Packers, it was an up and down season due largely to Rodgers missing eight games because of a spiral fracture of the clavicle. But the 2011 NFL MVP returned for the last game of the season to lead his team into the play-offs with a stirring victory over the Chicago Bears and a date against the 49ers' high-octane offence.
Rodgers has spoken of having an epiphany after winning the Super Bowl for the first time three years ago and feeling somewhat empty. He claimed to be seeking a higher purpose in life and his friendship with actress Emmanuelle Chriqui of fame exposed him to the plight of the people in the Congo. "I understand the way I'm viewed in society," he said. "I understand the opportunities I've been given through my platform. I think it's important that you use the gifts you've been given and the opportunities for influence to make a difference."
It certainly is a noble sentiment from the cerebral Rodgers, who is also planning to visit the Congo after the season ends. There was another human-interest story on Rodgers that appeared this week and this one was not entirely positive. Rumours of Rodgers' sexuality surfaced when a story that his scorned ex-lover was preparing to out him gained so much steam that the quarterback felt compelled to address it on his radio show. "I'm just going to say I am not gay," he said. But for the "where there's smoke, there's fire" brigade the story won't go away.
Many felt that the Congo activism story was a plant by the NFL media machine to distract from the gay rumours. Personally, I don't know and don't care and if Rodgers eventually becomes an activist for gay rights, well good for him. But for now, he has a game to win against the 49ers because Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell and Lew Alcindor would be the first to tell Rodgers that if you want to raise public awareness on social issues, you need to keep your own awareness high. Dominate your sport and then you can dominate a cause.