For today's non-activist athletes, silence is golden - and for some, mandatory

As someone who has followed sports his entire life, the disappearance of the activist athlete has been one of the most disturbing trends in today's over-hyped and often soulless world of sport.

Gone are the days of Tommie Smith and John Carlos risking their careers and lives to make a simple, non-violent display at the Olympic Games. Gone are athletes like Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Walton and Muhammed Ali, who would make stands on principle and make their feelings known about politics and the world around them.

Instead, today's athletes model themselves after those like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods - brilliant, intelligent athletes who would never take a risk to upend their corporate image.

As Dre Cummings wrote about Tiger Woods at the Sports Law Blog almost a year ago:

... it seems abundantly clear why the Activist Athlete has disappeared: Corporate Endorsements (and the potential for superstar athletes to become "billionaires"). Woods’ states in [Sports Illustrated] when asked about his business acumen and decisions: "It all depends on how much risk you want to take on. . . The things I do are very conservative. . . . I guess you don’t become billionaires by making bad decisions."

Woods cemented his standing as a non-activist by refusing to get involved in the fray when Golf Channel Announcer Kelly Tilghman joked that young golfers needed to take Woods to a back alley and lynch him to eliminate him as competition. And he kept quiet after Golf Week magazine ran a noose on its cover to try and take advantage of the incident.

In a burst of hyperbolic pride, Earl Woods once said that his gifted son "will do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity."

"He's the bridge between the East and the West. There is no limit because he has the guidance. I don't know yet exactly what form this will take. But he is the Chosen One. He'll have the power to impact nations. Not people. Nations. The world is just getting a taste of his power," Earl Woods said of his then-young son.

But the simple fact is this - Tiger Woods will do nothing to impact nations or impact history other than win golf tournaments and sell products. He has chosen not to be an activist.

But at least he has that choice. Because the way it appears now, future athletes will not only be lured away from speaking out, they won't even be allowed to. Because with the Olympics heading to China this year, a prominent "democracy" has already made it completely clear it will not stand for its athletes giving their opinions on the vast array of human rights' abuses for which China is notorious.

From CNN.com:

British athletes selected for this year's Olympic Games in Beijing will be asked to sign a contract that forbids them from criticizing China's human rights record.

British Olympic Association chief executive Clegg says the team must conform to an appropriate code of conduct.

Graham Nathan, spokesman for the British Olympics Association (BOA), told CNN that "British athletes will have to sign a contract promising not to comment on any politically sensitive issues."

That the Olympics is even to be held in China is a travesty and many groups, including Reporters without Borders have protested and called for boycotts.

But you won't hear much, if any, protests from prominent athletes. They won't want to risk it. Because now, speaking out in any way means an athlete is not just taking a chance of upsetting corporate powers - they're also being demanded by their governments to keep their mouths shut.

John Carlos had this to say during the aftermath of his raised-hand salute with Smith:

"We're sort of show horses out there for the white people. They give us peanuts, pat us on the back and say, 'Boy, you did fine.' "

While Carlos was referring to black athletes at the time, the message now rings true for all athletes. Because the message given by the British Olympic Association is crystal clear and the same message the corporate world has been sending out for years now: Athletes are show horses. If they do well, they will be rewarded. But if they forget their place and say the wrong thing, they risk losing more than medals.

Because in the 2008 Olympics in China and in sports in general, only silence will allow an athlete to be golden.

--WKW