Kicking off the second day of the Dodd Center for Human Rights’ Sport and Human Rights summit, sports journalist Pablo Torre and Christopher J. Dodd Chair in Human Rights Practice James Waller held a keynote conversation. Both men discussed sports and its role in larger American culture, on topics such as labor relations, transgender athletes and the human rights of athletes.
Torre is the host and executive editor of “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” a video podcast series where Torre goes into investigative dives or interviews with figures of interest. Torre has been a host at ESPN since 2012.
When Waller asked Torre about his opinion on athlete protests and how they influence talks on human rights, Torre harkened back to Wednesday’s keynote speakers, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and the video of them raising their fists in the air.
Hearing the boos at the end, it reminded Torre that the audience reacted this way because they didn’t like athletes going into a space they shouldn’t enter in politics. He argued that because sporting events are the “last remaining big tent in American life,” they are a great opportunity for athletes to make a meaningful gesture and have a large audience react to it. Rhoden said he doesn’t see athletes these days speak up on pressing issues. Waller relayed that same statement to Torre, asking for his thoughts on it.
Torre cited money as the reason why athletes don’t speak up. He called back on his reporting on the NFL Players Association’s (NFLPA) recent corruption scandal. The NFLPA has come under fire for its recent corruption scandal, its lack of transparency with union members and bargaining strategy.
The NFLPA deals with the richest league in the world, and union leaders thought that surely there is enough money to go around for both players and owners. Despite that fact, the owners aren’t willing to share a larger slice of the pie with NFL players, who have some of the shortest professional careers of athletes in the four major professional sports in North America.
Torre also said that “everyone has a number,” meaning that every athlete has a dollar value where they’d be willing to swallow their morals and be less vocal on social justice issues.
Next, Waller and Torre discussed the economics of sports. Torre argued that sports add a deep familiarity with rich people for your average fan. Through “sportswashing,” rich owners use the massive audience of sports to change their public image. Their inclusion in sports teams or events could help normalize the existence of billionaires and their extreme wealth in the eyes of the fans.
Torre used Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer as an example. Despite being an instrumental part of creating Microsoft into the monopolistic tech giant it is today, Clippers fans may know Ballmer as a fan first and tech capitalist second. In their eyes, Ballmer is a decent guy because he is a devoted fan of the Clippers, just like them.
One of the last questions Waller asked leaned into the political sphere, as they discussed the issue of transgender athletes and how to deal with the flurry of legislation that hopes to bar transgender athletes from further participation.
Torre took a step back for this question as he let an audience member, Redmond Sullivan, lead the talk. A transgender fencer, Torre interviewed Sullivan on PTFO, where they discussed the story of Sullivan’s opponent taking a knee against Sullivan in a fencing tournament.
Sullivan said she believes the hysteria surrounding transgender athletes is a way for right-wing media to divert attention from serious issues, such as President Donald Trump’s tariffs or the declining stock market.
Later, Torre also highlighted how much of a “moral panic” the issue of transgender athletes playing sports are. According to NCAA president Charlie Baker, there are less than 10 transgender athletes in college sports, or 0.02%. The level of attention these athletes receive vastly outweigh the importance of the situation, when there are more pressing issues that affect more people.
This issue also provides a vehicle for right-wing radicalization, according to Sullivan.
“We’re marching full tilt towards fascism… [We’ve] crossed the Rubicon,” she said. “Bigotry doesn’t stop at just transgender athletes, it snowballs into criticism against other issues, such as bodily autonomy or migrants.
Torre concluded his thoughts on the matter by saying “We should seek to protect trans people because they are vulnerable. They were sold to the American dream and the dream of sports, the last monoculture.”