I believe in athletes having the freedom and space to take political stands without having to worry about media and corporate backlash. I believe in athletes having the freedom and space to NOT take political stands if that's their choice. But I also believe that there are moments in history when silence itself becomes a political stand, a luxury we cannot afford. For Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl MVP quarterback, this is one of those moments. I'm just returning from Madison, Wisconsin where tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, unionists, and students, are fighting for their very lives. Day after day, I saw the crowds swell as people arrived on buses from across the state and even across the country. I saw feeder marches of 5,000 high school students chanting with an unguarded, proud fury you'd never know today's teenagers possessed. I saw people dressed like King Tut with a banner saying they would "protest like Egyptians." I spoke to nurses choking with rage that they would have to take second jobs or go onto food stamps if business as usual took place in the Capitol Building. I saw thousands sing the Wisconsin Badger football fight song, ending with "Fight Fight Fight and We'll WIN THE DAY!" and they weren't talking about football.
They're trying to stop their Governor Scott Walker, also known as "The Mubarak of the Midwest", from gutting their pay, benefits, and very right to collectively bargain. Walker has also threatened to bring in the National Guard if he can't get his way. For those who don't know, the budget "deficit", Walker is so concerned about is a result of tax breaks he handed to out-of-state corporate donors, gutting the state's surplus. Now he wants the workers to pay.
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