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New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani used the blue and orange of the New York Knicks last year in much of his campaign material, and heading into Tuesday’s primary in Gotham, all of the socialists running seem to be sporting the now NBA Championship Knicks logo for their branding. It’s a very troubling trend.
We have seen this phenomenon recently in Los Angeles as well, with GOP mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt rocking campaign gear based on the Dodgers baseball logo. Not only is this not merely playful, not only is it divisive, it’s also deeply un-American.
In Europe and South America, especially in soccer, pro teams often represent political or religious splits in the region. In Spain, Barcelona is a team of the left, Real Madrid of the right. In Scotland, Celtic is Catholic, Rangers is Protestant, and their craziest fans, called “ultras,” have clashed violently.
This is such a completely foreign concept to Americans that I once fell victim to it myself.
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On a recent trip to Israel, I wanted to buy a soccer jersey as a souvenir, and, knowing nothing about Israeli soccer, picked the shirt of a random team from Tel Aviv. threw it on and took a walk on the beach.
That’s when the stares started, people looking at me with odd disdain. I thought maybe it was because I was smoking, but Israelis don’t care about that. I decided to look up this soccer team, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and discovered it is the team whose fans support Hamas, Antifa, and communism.
Headed back to my room to change. I was waylaid by an Israeli official I know.
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“How did you not know?” he asked increduilously. “It’s bright red.”
I replied, “So are the Arizona Cardinals, it doesn’t make them communists!”
The point is that in America’s 150 years of professional sports, our teams have never become avatars for political ideologies or parties. As a result, sports still have a unique ability to bring cities and regions together.
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Part of the reason American sports have avoided this fate is pure geography. In Europe, major cities have as many as 10 pro soccer teams, catering to differing demographics. In Cincinnati, it doesn’t matter if you are MAGA or Maoist, you’re rooting for the Bengals.
So, when Democratic Socialists try to co-opt the Knicks, or Pratt does so with the Dodgers, it undermines one of the last things that truly brings us all together.
Look, if a politician is a die-hard fan of a team, as Rudy Giuliani was of the Yankees, that’s one thing. It’s part of the bio. But in Mamdani’s case, despite his current zeal, just a year ago he couldn’t tell the difference between a New York Knick and a shaving cut.
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On the other hand, it’s obvious that Mamdani’s lifelong love of London’s Arsenal soccer team is genuine, if somewhat amusing since Arsenal is not only considered a political establishment team, but also one with a strong Jewish fan base.
The simple fact of the matter is that the New York Knicks have nothing to do with progressive politics, and the LA Dodgers have nothing to do with the political frustrations of Angelenos. It’s just sports, which in some ways, is way more important than politics.
It has long been a tenet of the Marxist left that every action is a political action, every choice a political choice. In recent years even on the right, we have seen boycotts of Bud Light and Target bring politics to our commerce.
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We must protect sports from this hyper-partisan fate. We root for our teams because we love our regions and we love our neighbors, not for the base motivations of political power.
I suppose there is nothing to be done when gangs like MS-13 adopt the Chicago Bulls logo, then use the logos to target enemies. But responsible politicians can and should stop turning our sports logos into pink or red hats.
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As a Philadelphia Eagles fan, when I see a Dallas Cowboys jersey I want to feel the simple pure hatred for that horrid symbol that my parents and theirs before them felt. I don’t want it sullied by politics like some European.
So, please, politicians, from progressives to Pratt, give it a rest with turning our beloved sports franchises into competing tabloid newspapers. Leave us this one, pure thing that we can share. I promise, there will be plenty left to argue over.
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