Recontextualization Culture: Glenn Beck and American Sports

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Tomorrow, Beck will stand two rows down from the site of Martin Luther King, Jr’s historic “I Have A Dream” speech and present a rally that he hopes will become equally historic. Attendance is projected in the ten and hundred of thousands, drawing on support from the Tea Party movement. Sarah Palin is expected to provide star power to the rally. It even has news outlets drawing lines in the sand – is this a display of patriotism, a self-aggrandizing ploy by Beck, a de facto show of force by the Tea Party, or something else? The one element of the discussion that draws my attention, however, is implied through two potential guests of honor – Tony La Russa and Albert Pujols, the manager and star player for the St. Louis Cardinals. For even though they may not agree with the politics or the opinions of Beck, their link to the television and radio personality runs deeper than their Q Score. Both parties (Beck and the Tea Party members on one side, the Cardinals and their professional sports brethren) depend on their desire and ability to alter the nature of the sphere of influence they inhabit.

Beck is a seminal figure in the Tea Party movement – his vocal support of its ideology and membership has lent the movement a good deal of coverage and exposure – and to ignore his role on the eve of its potential greatest display of influence would be irresponsible. How did a talking head get this big? His rhetoric.

Many have argued, correctly or no, that he is manipulating fears and ignorance to accomplish his goals. This isn’t a new approach – McCain detractors claimed he would be no better than Bush two years ago. Its effectiveness will be put to the light tomorrow with the spotlight directly centered on the former morning talk host. But for better or worse, Beck has altered the national political landscape. In this midterm election year, people are legitimately concerned or interested in the results state-to-state. Political activism is more prominent than it has been for a long time.

In short, Beck has helped make politics a full-contact sport. On the flip side, athletes are adopting the opposite trend; through the collective bargaining agreement negotiations in the NBA and NFL and the budget allocation in MLB, professional sport is now a widely political venture.

As a microcosm of the interplay between politics and athletes, three high-profile holdouts caught the media’s attention. Motivations were as widespread as the athletes themselves:

• Albert Haynesworth, unhappy with his changing role within the Washington Redskins’ defense, sat out as many days as physically possible without losing his $21M paycheck;
• Bret Favre, unsure about the health of his ankle, contemplated retirement to avoid training camp;
• Darelle Revis, confident in his being the best cornerback in the league, refuses to this day to show up without a deal making him the highest paid player at the position.

In all these cases, the athlete is significant enough so as to merit attention. Haynesworth is considered his team’s best player, Revis is considered in the top two cornerbacks if not the best, and Favre holds every meaningful quarterback record and had his best season last year. The athletes were (or are) under the terms of contracts that exerted influence over them – Haynesworth was required to show up even if he disapproved of the situation, Favre was required to attend camp as part of the team, and Revis was still under his underwhelming rookie contract.

So what did they do? They acted in whatever way they were possible to exert their own influence over the rules that bound them. Haynesworth eventually caved, though he still resists as best he can. Favre got what he wanted, coming back at the end of training camp and immediately retaking his old starting position. Revis is still in limbo, eternally just moments from receiving his deal but just as likely to miss the entire season.

But by virtue of holding out so publicly and with such determination, these players have shifted the focus of discussions in forming a new CBA. Instead of revenue sharing between ownership and players (which has been the major separation point between the player’s union and the league’s owners), the most pertinent element of consideration going into the season is the nature of guaranteed money in player contracts. They have fundamentally transformed the face of the debate.

So as Beck speaks in DC and Revis sits in New York, remember that they’re not that different. One is a polarizing speaker and political figure, one is a millionaire athlete. But both are players in the high-stakes game that has become modern life.

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