We are in a day and age where political and social issues have become front and center. The sports world is no stranger to that, either. In fact, many athletes and sports leagues are doing what it can to push the conversation forward.

Sports can be a diversion from the problems people are facing in the real world, but it has also played an important role in social and racial justice through the years. People who are clamoring for athletes to “stick to sports” have obviously not studied their history to know athletes have never really stuck to sports.

Players taking a knee for national anthems or wearing shirts or jerseys that say “I can’t breathe” or “Black Lives Matter” is not a new phenomenon. Politics and justice have always played out on the sports arenas.

We can go back to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin when Jesse Owens embarrassed Adolf Hitler by winning four gold medals, thereby crushing Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy.

Less than 15 years after that, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was a strong political statement made in the sports world that Black athletes deserved to be able to play for the same league as their white counterparts.

Thirty-two years later, U.S. track athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute on the medal stand after winning the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200-meter dash at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

The two were protesting the mistreatment of Black people during the Civil Rights era and were heavily criticized for what they did, even being expelled from the Olympic Village.

Fast forward to today, and we can see that athletes and sports leagues getting involved in political or social causes isn’t anything new.

Over the weekend, the English Premier League showed its support to racial equality by each of its players having “Black Lives Matter” put on their jerseys in place of where their names would normally be on the back above the number.

Each player on every team took a knee for a few seconds at the beginning of each match to show their support and solidarity with Black people all over the world.

Closer to home, a battle is being waged between sports organizations and the Confederate flag. NASCAR waded into political waters last week when it banned the flag from all tracks, effective immediately. The organization had requested fans stop bringing them a few years ago, but had not made it a requirement until now.

Naturally, fans at Talladega, where the series raced Monday, weren’t too happy. Many Confederate flags were seen outside the track, and somebody flew a small plane over the track towing a large rebel flag and the message “Defund NASCAR.”

The biggest proponent to having the flag banned was driver Bubba Wallace, the only Black driver in the series currently. A noose was found in his garage stall Sunday, showing just how far some are out of touch with human decency.

The Confederate flag is also under siege in Mississippi. The state is the only one to still have it as part of its state flag. The politicians in the state apparently don’t see this as the huge embarrassment it is, so the NCAA feels they need a little push to make the right decision to change the flag.

The collegiate sports governing authority said it would no longer allow any postseason games in the state as long as the Confederate flag is still a part of the state flag. This really hurts my alma mater, Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs consistently host baseball regionals and women’s basketball tournament games.

But if that’s what needs to happen to get the rebel flag off the courthouse and into a museum, then so be it.

As the old saying goes, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Sports didn’t just start getting political recently. It’s always been a major part of the political and social conscience of America and the world. As long as athletes and sports organizations have a platform and a message, they will continue to use it, as they should.

— Edwards can be reached at jeff@athensnews-courier.com.