An article by Nancy Armour in USA Today attempted to denounce Caitlin Clark and Patrick Mahomes for their political ambiguity.

She points out that both Clark and Mahomes declined to endorse a specific presidential candidate this month, instead urging their supporters to register and vote.

armor says Their “meaningless answers are reminiscent of the era of athlete activism in Michael Jordan’s time.”

Jordan, of course, famously said, “Republicans buy sneakers too” – an admission that the politicization of any form of entertainment inevitably leads to dissatisfaction on one side of the fan base.

Armour ultimately accused Clark and Mahomes of moral cowardice.

“Elite athletes are born with unique physical gifts and unique dedication. Moral courage is something they must find on their own, and this week was a reminder that not many do,” she concluded.

Which athletes does Armour consider to be morally courageous? She specifically mentions LeBron James and Megan Rapinoe.

“Not every athlete can be LeBron James or Megan Rapinoe,” laments Armour.

“Athletes’ involvement in politics is now taken for granted. James performed alongside Hillary Clinton in 2016 and helped found a group four years ago to protect voting rights for black Americans. Rapinoe was one of Joe Biden’s early supporters and even jokingly offered to be his running mate,” she adds.

By Armour’s definition, Tom Brady is “courageous.” However, in 2021, she urged fellow journalists to denounce Brady for his past support of Trump.

“Tom Brady has been given an undeserved free pass for his past support of Donald Trump,” said Armour wrote at that time.

Hmmm.

Let us summarize:

Nancy Armour called Clark and Mahomes “moral cowards” for not Supporting a presidential candidate. She praised LeBron for his support of Hillary and Rapinoe for her support of Biden. She called for widespread condemnation of Brady for once supporting Trump.

Do you have all this?

In other words, Armour doesn’t want athletes to use their platforms to support the candidate of their choice. Rather, it wants them to support a specific candidate – the Democratic candidate on the ballot.

You also have to find it amusing that Armour brave when athletes support a Democrat, the opposite is true.

Athletes, like celebrities, are constantly pressured by the press and their peers to support the Democratic Party. For example, several Hollywood trade publications criticized Taylor Swift for not endorsing Kamala Harris before she did so earlier this month.

In contrast, the ladies on The view said Patrick Mahomes’ wife Brittany was racist and stupid because she “liked” a positive post about Trump.

“It just seems to me that, being in an interracial marriage, she should have known that supporting a racist is problematic. Her children are interracial and her family is one of the families that couldn’t have lived in one of Donald Trump’s buildings in the ’70s,” Sunny Hostin said this week. “It just seems to me that maybe she’s just not that politically savvy or just hasn’t read up on it,” said Hostin, the dumbest of the ladies on set.”

As Armour’s article further demonstrates, it is safer for public figures to support a Democrat than to support no one at all. Race woman Jemele Hill published a similar column last weekand questions black athletes for not supporting Kamala Harris more.

Moral courage, by definition, requires actions and/or statements that have consequences. For athletes, that usually means statements that jeopardize their endorsement deals, their status with the cool kids, and their bottom line.

Muhammad Ali risked all of this by protesting the Vietnam War. The same goes for Harrison Butker, who gave a religious-tinged graduation speech earlier this year. Athletes are risking none of this by supporting Kamala Harris.

They should support the Democrats.

Nick Kayal is a high-profile radio host in Kansas City. He responded to Armour’s article on Friday.

“If you’re a woke sportsman who supports a Democrat, you’ve taken a stand. If you’re the Goat and support Trump, the left will try to take you down,” Kayal posted on X. “@nrarmour is a hypocrite and exactly the type of sports media member that made me stop reading @USATODAY and their garbage.”

He is right – in everything.

Furthermore, athletes do not owe the country political support. No one outside of politics does. Voting is a personal decision. It is up to each individual whether to make their views public.

Caitlin Clark and Patrick Mahomes don’t want that. Maybe they don’t feel educated enough to make voting recommendations. Maybe they don’t want to ignore half of their fan base, whoever that may be.

Whatever the reason, Clark and Mahomes have the right to discuss or not discuss whatever they want.

To put it simply, Nancy Armour is attempting to use USA Today’s platform to intimidate athletes into supporting her preferred candidate. This is the act of a psychotic bully.

Her message reads like a threat: Support Kamala Harris or we’ll come after you.

Unfortunately, we have to expect that some athletes will give in and support Harris, regardless of whether they support her or not.