The USA’s World Cup stars should be applauded for their activism – they’re champions off the field as well as on

They came, they saw, they conquered. Not just the World Cup , but everything that has been put in their path to slow them down, and the USA will not stop just because they have retained their title. Never before has a football team been so willing to take on battles beyond the strict confines of their sport, and rarely has one been so dominant in its field. The World Cup winning Springboks helped unite a post-apartheid South Africa, with the help of Nelson Mandela in the 1990s, but the US soccer team fight for things that transcend national borders. Not since Muhammad Ali have sport and politics blended so muscularly, and their willingness to speak openly, intelligently and passionately about issues that matter to them and their gender needs appreciation, not scorn. The ease with which they slip into political activism, using a pre-match press conference or a post-match mixed zone as a platform to voice their opinions rather than clichés about the game they are about to play or have just finished, should be applauded, not sneered at. They are not scared to say the wrong thing, they do not worry about their brand, they do not care if a… Read full this story

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