Sports are political.
Anyone who says otherwise ignores the longstanding impact that sports and politics have on each other. For decades, politicians and civil activists have utilized sporting events to promote or criticize various policies. Simultaneously, professional sports leagues have leveraged their influence on state economies to push for political change. Whether people like it or not, politics and sports are intertwined.
Atlanta is no stranger to political dissent surrounding its sports. Before Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympic Games, civil activist groups such as Open Door Community warned against the Olympic stadium’s construction out of concern for Atlanta’s low-income neighborhoods and homeless population. Open Door Community pointed out that Olympic host cities often push for “vagrant-free” Games, deliberately pushing out homeless citizens without providing supportive resources.
Activists’ concerns never gained traction, and Atlanta became the 1996 host city. In the last decade, Atlanta has faced more pressing political criticism surrounding its sporting events and professional organizations. Atlanta’s population has grown rapidly since the 1996 Olympics, increasing by roughly four million inhabitants. As the city boomed, Atlantans began to form a distinct blue spot in the largely red state of Georgia. This pushed Georgia to the foreground of American politics for the past four years. Georgia transitioned from staunchly Republican to a swing state that helped elect President Joe Biden during the 2020 election, and both Democrats and Republicans have ramped up their campaign efforts in the state this year.
Recent criticisms surrounding sports and politics have arisen amid this political ideology shift in Georgia’s population. However, before Georgia gained the sports boycott spotlight, professional sports leagues faced backlash multiple times for hosting events in Arizona. With the exception of 1996, Arizona voted Republican in every presidential election from 1952 to 2016. The state legislature has reflected this Republican support, with state laws often being conservative.
In 1991, the NFL decided to relocate the 1993 Super Bowl after Arizona refused to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday. The NBA also moved important meetings out of the state for the same reason. Arizona took a massive economic hit, with the NFL and NBA leaving and the NCAA rejecting a bid to host postseason tournament games. The state lost upwards of $200 million, which may have prompted Arizona to recognize MLK Day in 1992.
Similar situations have occurred in the peach state. In 2021, Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.) signed an act that tightened absentee ballot requirements, cut down on ballot drop box usage and limited people from approaching voters in line. Many Democratic leaders, in addition to Atlanta-based companies like Coca-Cola and Delta, criticized these changes for limiting democratic participation.
The MLB sided with Delta and Coca-Cola, removing the 2021 All-Star Game and draft from Atlanta. Removing the All-Star game prompted serious backlash from Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump, who as of print time is poised to win the 2024 presidential election, who suggested boycotting baseball.
Cobb County, the home of the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park, missed out on an estimated $100 million of tourism expenditures as a result of the moved All-Star Game. This was a massive blow to Cobb County’s tourism industry, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic caused hotel stay rates to plummet. This was not enough, however, to prompt any change to the conservative voting laws. In fact, Kemp defended the new laws and blamed the MLB at a 2021 press conference for being scared of “Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden and the left.”
Georgia’s senatorial race in 2022 also highlighted the collision of sports and politics. Republican candidate Herschel Walker leveraged his football and track and field career at the University of Georgia (UGA) during his campaign. At UGA, Walker earned All-American honors for both sports and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. Before his senatorial campaign, Walker had limited political experience, especially in Georgia.
When Walker entered Georgia’s senatorial race, some constituents were hesitant because his political stances were largely unknown. Walker’s athletic notoriety gained favor with Georgia’s Republican voters, many of whom are proud Bulldogs fans. Like many of Georgia’s prominent Republican politicians, Walker favored campaigning in Athens, Ga., compared to Atlanta. Additionally, The Battery, the new suburban location of the Atlanta Braves stadium, was home to Walker’s senatorial campaign headquarters. This location situated Walker closer to Georgia’s Republican voters, who are whiter and located further outside cities compared to many Democratic voters.
Sen. Raphael Warnock’s (D-Ga.) entrance into politics is on the opposite end of the spectrum as Walker’s. Despite his 2022 campaign being his first political role, Warnock has been vocal for decades about civil and political activism. After graduating from Morehouse College (Ga.), Warnock utilized his position as a minister to bring attention to drug addiction in Black communities, voting rights and death-row prisoners.
Warnock’s transition into politics could be considered more traditional compared to Walker’s pivot from sports. However, sports carry notable influence in Georgia politics and likely played a role in Warnock only winning 51.37% votes to Walker’s 48.63% in the run-off election. Georgia’s sports identity is only getting stronger, so voters may see nominees in state or federal elections increasingly utilize sports within their campaign platforms. This is especially pertinent as Atlanta looks forward to hosting multiple major sporting events in the next four years, including the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2025, the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the 2028 Super Bowl.
From the 1996 Olympics to Walker’s recent senatorial campaign, sports and political movements in the peach state have been intertwined. As Atlanta grows in population and national notoriety, politics will continue to play a key role in the state’s sports.
