Current controversies surrounding music personalities and the Houston Texans and Kyrie Irving show the complexity and emotion crossing disciplines and geopolitics.
Student-athletes are partly insulated from "the real world," yet should think about their communications.
Practical Applications
Cognitive dissonance explains the difficulty and psychological discomfort in holding opposing viewpoints simultaneously. Maturity includes tolerating the discomfort of mixed judgments. You can admire the player and reject the opinion. You can dislike the speaker and concede the point.
Stoicism reminds us that we are not obligated to hold an opinion on everything.
Likewise, we are not obligated to share our opinion, recognizing that opinions spark controversy.
A team, employer, sponsor, fan, teammate, or consumer may react to speech in ways the Constitution does not prohibit. An employer may consider our words a "fireable offense" or a governing body might pull our license.
Legal constraints such as libel and slander also might constrain our communication. It is noteworthy that political speech from some elected officials has protection.
Putting the toothpaste back in the tube can become a Herculean task.
Cancel Culture
"Cancel culture" applies when organizations or individuals are boycotted or shunned because of their publicly held beliefs. It's people imposing social or economic consequences on speech they consider unacceptable.
"I'm done with him" or "Bye, Felicia."
Decades ago, Toshiba sold super-secret submarine quieting technology to the Soviet Union. I chose not to buy Toshiba products, not exactly a company-breaker.
Wealthy organizations and basketball superstars often choose not to comment on politics not wanting their "ox to be gored." That's rational to avoid offending fans with different beliefs, attitudes, and values. It's probably more the norm than the exception.
No Easy Answer
One question is "why should we care about celebrity opinion?" A talking head says, "Shut up and dribble" and we can agree, disagree, or choose to ignore both the source and the target.
Each of us sets boundaries for our attitudes, choices, and effort. Many of us learn "children should be seen and not heard" and later "never discuss religion and politics." Life shows us that both are violated consistently.
Before speaking, ask three questions:
- Do I know enough?
- Does this need to be said?
- Am I prepared to own the consequences?
Know what you believe and why you believe it. Choose words and opinions carefully and be prepared to stand behind them.
Lagniappe. Learning to overcome adversity is both essential and a process.
Nick Saban shares an universal truth about resilience and overcoming adversity.
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) September 11, 2026
"You gotta have resiliency. You gotta be able to overcome adversity."
"There can be no great victories in life unless you can overcome adversity."
"You gotta be able to overcome it."
The problem?… pic.twitter.com/RmVRWuw4aw
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