Shannon discusses why ‘the days of sticking to sports are over’ – FOXSports.com

He has a very good point. And the thing is the days that stick the sports are over. Skip, it started, look this goes back because we had actors. President Reagan was an actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor. Jesse Ventura. We see Al Franken was a writer for Saturday Night Live and now he’s in the Senate. We see and we saw a reality TV star become the most powerful figure in the world.

SKIP BAYLESS: Yep.

SHANNON SHARPE: And when he mentioned those names, we’re talking about the 1960s, and we talking about what was going on. So for us now you have to have the perfect storm. And that’s what you had then. You had athletes trying to say, hold on. Even though I’m making a lot of money, I’m still black in America, and I’m treated differently than even the whites that’s not making nearly as much. So I got a problem with this. Billie Jean King, she fought for equality. Why because I’m a female should I get treated differently than a male? Why should I make less if I’m doing the same job that a male’s doing? Now we get guys, and we get President Trump and his rhetoric, I think it’s resonating with them because they see where he’s trying to take it.

And those athletes do not want to go back there. They know what it’s like, they heard what it was like. They have moms, they have grandparents. They have an opportunity to read. And this is we’re not [AUDIO OUT] back there, so we are. The days of sticking to sports because they intertwine. And he made that abundantly clear I think it was Friday, Saturday night when he as a politician, he talked about what was transpiring in the NFL. And I tweeted, “Can he please stick to politics?” I go to politics to get away from sports. You see what I did there Skip. Got everybody say, I go to away from politics, so that’s why I watch sport. So they are Skip. And it’s resonating because a lot of what’s transpiring, how does it affect LeBron when he making $100 million, but LeBron realize everybody doesn’t make $100 million. So there gonna be a large segment of people that are going to be affected by some of the policies that are being instituted.

And as George Spark wrote on our hand, the powerful should speak up for the voiceless. The millionaires should speak up for the penniless. And that’s when a society is at is absolute best. When there’s caring, there’s understanding. And we ask for equality, and we ask that everybody be judged fairly. Not anyone thinks their better solely because I’m white, and solely because I’m a male and your a female. And so I applaud these young men that are using their platform.

And what we’ve seen, Skip, they’re called influencers. And I don’t know when this dichotomy changed and maybe you can tell me. Because there was a time once upon a time, average people sold products on television, but what they realized is that average people didn’t want to be like other average people. They wanted to be like the guy that could dunk, or the guy that could throw a pass, or the guy that could run fast. So these marketers, and these endorsements, sponsors said hold on, if I got Joe Namath, or if I got Roger Staubach, if I got this guy, what would happen? Lo and behold, they want to be like them. I don’t want to be like the guy across the street. He’s a normal guy, he lives in my day, I see him. That’s the soap that Joe Montana use. That’s the shoe Michael Jordan wears. That’s the car that Tom Brady drives.

So now they realize, hold on, if we can pitch products and what we’ve seen from politicians. Each politician try to get the biggest star they possibly can, and parade them out there on stage with them. Oh, Tom Brady like him. Bill Belichick like him. LeBron James like her. Ta-da. So they’re realizing their voice has weight, and they’re using it for good.