ARGOMENTO: The words were Zlatan Ibrahimovic's own, but the m

The words were Zlatan Ibrahimovic's own, but the me sage was a familiar one.Stick to sports; shut up and dribble. That was the deeper meaning behindthe me sage Ibrahimovic sent when he took aim at NBA star LeBron James in a recent interview aired last week Dennis Eckersley Jersey ." LeBron is phenomenal at what he's doing, but I don't like it when people have some kind of status, they go and do politics at the same time," Ibrahimovic told Discovery+in Sweden. "Do what you're good at. Do the category you do. I play football because I'm the best at playing football.MORE: "I don't do politics. If I would be a politician, I would do politics. That is the first mistake people make when they become famous and they reach a certain status. Stay out of it. Just do what you do best because it doesn't look good."Despite James having responded, "Racism and politics are two different things. We athletes unite the world, politics divides the world."For James, it is a familiar sentiment. It hasbeen the me sage sent at him for years, most famously bytelevision presenter Laura Ingraham, the originator of that now-infamous "shut up and dribble" quip.For years, James has been one of sport's most outspoken athletes, and he hasbecomeone of sport's most frequent targets because of it.Zlatan Ibrahimovic uppskattar basketspelaren Lebron James men tycker inte att han ska lgga sig i politiken: "Lebron r fenomenal p det Matt Joyce Jersey han gr, men jag gillar inte nr folk med status lgger sig i politik"Lng intervju med Zlatan Ibrahimovic: discovery+ sport (@dplus_sportSE) James, in many ways, represents the newest generation of athlete. He isobviously a sports star first, but his push into other avenues, such as his minority ownership of Liverpool, make him quite the busine sman.In the NBA, he hasushered in a new era of player entitlement, with the league's top stars now holding more power over their own futures than ever before. And, away from the court, he hastaken on a prominent role in social activism, following in the footsteps of titans like Muhammad Ali, Bill Ru sell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in usinghis platform to inspire societal change.Thereis now anew generation: the athlete that cares. It isa ma sive change from yesteryear when outspoken sports stars were few and far between; a minority who only sporadically made headlines, such as during the 1968 Olympics men's 200-meter medal ceremony.MORE:But as the world has changed around them, activism in sport has notbecome the exception, but rather the norm.Consider Naomi Osaka, now a four-time tennis Grand Slam tournament winner but deeply involved in social activism. Colin Kaepernick's anthem protest in the NFL continues to resonate around the world.Look at Megan Rapinoe and the U.S. women's national team, Dave Henderson Jersey The USWNT's top stars have all had different approaches in that fight, with Rapinoe being far and away the most outspoken, but their unification for that common goal has blended sport and politics unlike any other team that came before them.Or look to MLS and the Black Players for Change organization that formed in the wake of the protests following the death of George Floyd. The organization, which features over 170 players, coaches and staff acro s MLS, is while fighting back at the systems that have prevented Black people from equal opportunities in American soccer.You could even look to U.S. Soccer as a whole, as this past weekend'sannual general meeting was overshadowed by controversy. Speaking in favor of reinstating the federation's national anthem policy,Seth Jahn, a member oftheU.S. seven-a-side Paralympic team, made his argument by downplaying the effects of slavery."I keep hearing how our country was founded on the backs of slaves, even though approximately only 8percentof the entire population even owned slaves," said Jahn, who has since been removed by the federation's athletes' council."Every race in the history of mankind has been enslaved by another demographic at some point in time. Blacks have been enslaved. Hispanics have been enslaved. Asians, most recently in our country in the freaking Tony Phillips Jersey 20th century, have been enslaved. Natives have been enslaved. Whites have been enslaved. Shoot, I lived in Africa for 2 1/2 years where I could purchase people, slaves, between the price of $300 and $800 per person, per head depending on their age, health and physicality."Where were the social justice warriors and the news journalists there to bring their ruminations to these real atrocities? And yet in all of history, only one country has fought to abolish slavery, the United States of America, where nearly 400,000 men died to fight for the abolishment of slavery underneath the same stars and bars that our athletes take a knee for. Their sacrifice is tainted with every knee that touches the ground." These sorts of debates, discu sions and controversies are notjust bound to the United States, though. Marcus Rashford is perhaps football's most famous example, with the Manchester United star's Raheem Sterling is while Juan Mataco-foundedCommon Goal, .And let usnot forget Ibrahimovic himself, and who used his own platform to speak out about racism in Sweden back in 2018."What does the Swedish media do? They defend me or do they jump on and attack me? They still attack me, because they cannot Marco Estrada Jersey accept that I am Ibrahimovic," he told Canal+. "If another player would do same mistake I do, they would defend him. But when it comes to me, they don't defend me."This is about racism. This is about racism. I don't say there is racism but I say there is undercover racism."This exists, I am 100 percent sure. Because I am not Ander son or Sven son. If I would be that, trust me, they would defend me even if I would rob a bank. They would defend me, I tell you."Ibrahimovic, having spent two seasons in the U.S. with the LA Galaxy, will be more than familiar with James' own story, just like James was with his. The two are both ma sive figures, both in the U.S. and abroad, and their recent war of words made mainstream news because of it.The pairare legitimate sporting icons, and both have much more in common than many, including perhaps themselves,would realize.Ibrahimovic, like James, has used his platform to speak about i sues he sees in society. And Ibrahimovic, like James, has Marcus Semien Jersey been impacted by his own rags-to-riches journey that has seen him overcome a difficult upbringing to become an international superstar.By calling James out, Ibrahimovic implied thatactivism is OK, as long as it ishis own activism. "Its funny that hessaid that because I believe back in 2018 hes the same guy who said that when he was back in Sweden, he was talking about the same things," James fired back."Because his last name wasnt a certain last name, he felt like there was some racism going on while he was out on the pitch . . .right?"He did say that, ri