Getting politics back in sports

Off the George Mason symbolism—I am going nuts waiting for more political action in sport. Like how about a demonstration? I sat through the Olympics waiting for the American snowboarder or skater who would rip off his jacket on the podium to show a t-shirt with the painted message, END THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ. Didn’t happen. Bode Miller’s dramatic failure on the ski slopes seemed political in character, especially in his zenned-out statements about not caring: I felt like he was flipping the bird at American nationalism, rebelling against all the sponsorship and media hype. But if it was political, it was utterly passive-aggressive. More is needed to rip American youth from its political doldrums. Where are Tommie Smith and John Carlos doing the black power salute on the podium in the ’68 Olympics?