agreed! really nice piece, and i really respect her for putting this message out.

I respect her for putting herself out there.

What I have really respected are the NFL commercials that encourage voting - in those, there is no undertone of which party to vote for. They’re doing it right.

disagree. utterly disgraceful. stay out of politics

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I do not hunt to kill. I kill to have hunted.

Same. Thread already exists...

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/.../?page=unread#unread

1) Why is it disgraceful?

2) Since we live in a free country why should she or other athletes stay out of politics? Former runner Jim Ryan has done well in politics as have other athlete

3) do you really want to side with synthetic on something? He’s the biggest moron on the forum which is quite the achievement to say the least

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Matt

That seems a little extreme. I agree that I'd prefer public figures to stay out of politics...but, this seems to mostly stop short of saying much except to "vote". Of all the "famous people" "political messages" this is way down on the scale of preachiness and self-righteousness, to me..

When 'Murican's put out these feel-good articles exhorting people to go out and vote, are they ok if those people go out in droves and vote for "the other guy"?

There is always an undertone that seems to be asking people to do more than simply apolitically exercise their democratic right (and/or civic duty).

I don’t think it’s disgraceful, but from the way her article was written it’s clear which side of the line she falls on. I fall very far on the other side of the line, and I still respect her for her opinion.

Now, what I could certainly live without is the story being on the front page of slowtwitch. I’ve removed Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and rarely watch ESPN anymore outside of my alma maters games because it gets old to hear political slants. I’d prefer that stuff be kept off of the front page here and kept in the lavender room where it belongs.

Edit: above I noted I appreciate the nfl with this and their commercials - in those, there are no hot button issues that drive anger, they just tell people to go vote - period (even though we can assume). Gwen’s article went straight at a hot button issue which isn’t needed on here, and the website has steered clear of in the past.

Sports is politics. To believe otherwise is to be ignorant of history, and to wish otherwise is to deny the legacy of greats like Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and countless others that risked everything to drive social justice.


https://theundefeated.com/...-of-sports-protests/

Amen on that.

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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If she was rabidly pro-Trump, I doubt you would be saying this.

I'm fine with Gwen expressing her views publicly but doesn't that comment belong in the Lavender Room. As a consumer of Slowtwitch content I would rather not have a political piece as the front page issue. Especially when Gwen is not just encouraging people to vote but encouraging for a specific political viewpoint. Don't we get enough of that in other media?! This does not belong on Slowtwitch's front page. Enough with the freaking shoving of political views down our throats. I can't wait for this stupid year to be done...

Dan? Any comments? My guess is that as long as the opinion piece agrees with your political viewpoint then by all means go right on the front page. I thought we were here for the love of Triathlon and endurance sport, but whatever...

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

My question, to you and others who disagree with her stance, is when are they not supposed to be role models and stand up for what they believe in? We want professional athletes to be role models and stand up for important things and speak their minds but it seems only when they agree with ours. Now I do not want to get into politics but I do feel like this election is MUCH different than any in the last many elections and there are so many people who have not voted for whatever reason so these athletes are trying to get people to vote. And obviously many of the people who have not been voting in the past are minorities and younger people as a whole and these star athletes have connections to those groups which is why the athletes want those groups' voices to be heard.

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Twitter - Instagram

I'm curious to know what grievous harm you suffered as a result of reading an opinion that was contrary to your own?

Did you read my post? I don’t care what people’s views are or if they agree with me or not - I respect Gwens opinion. What I could live without is it being on the front page of a website that has consistently put anything political into the lavender room. If I want to see political talk, I’ll watch Fox News like the rest of my friends (please tell me you’re capable of chuckling at that).

And honestly, I’m just as annoyed hearing the right side of this as I am the left. Trying to zone out and watch YouTube on a trainer ride is a nightmare as every 5 minutes you get to hear how crappy of a human someone is. It’s not that I don’t respect her opinion, I clearly said I did, it’s that I don’t want to see it on slowtwitch.

No harm. We all have choices, likes and dislikes. I dislike being hit with politics in a medium that I frequent for all things endurance. This is exactly why the Lavender Room exists, for everything else. I avoid Fox News and CNN like the plague. Because when I want news and discussion in politics I would rather go to a credible source. I do not come to Slowtwitch for politics. As a matter of fact I come to it sometimes because it's a breath of fresh air. That goes away as soon as Dan allows it to turn political like everything else nowadays.

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

Ahh yes, the politics of "vote" and "people shouldn't murder other people". Only in the current state of the US are those controversial statements. Sorry decency and exercising democracy are being shoved down your throat.

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I wrote this, you should read it:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...n_Swimming_6700.html

Agree. Gwen Jorgensen is famous in this country for winning a goal medal for the United States. No one can argue that the Olympic Games aren't political.

Dan's political beliefs were apparent to all who paid any attention to what he writes before he posted the Jorgensen opinion piece.

I applaud Jorgensen for writing about national issues which could potentially cost her $ in our fractured country. OTOH, I'm cynical enough to wonder if it's possible that she wrote this partly because of her desire to please Nike and to continue receiving $ from Nike after her current contract ends.

Oh boy, here we go...I'm out.

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

I agree with your thoughts. I stopped following her on social media because of all the political stuff. It's one thing to maybe post for a day or two about an issue that is current, it's another thing to go on about it for weeks. I wish athletes would create two accounts, one personal and one athletic. I watch sports for the entertainment and to remove my mind from what is going on around me.

As for having it on the front page of Slowtwitch. I don't think its good business but it's easy enough for me to just not click the article so it doesn't bother me at all. I know what side Dan leans so it's not something that surprises me or changes my thoughts on the website (or anyone involved with the site). I'll be honest, I didn't read the article because I know Gwen's (and Dan's) stance so I assumed what the gist of the article was going to be about. It seems I assumed correctly.

Oh I read it and sorry for the confusion. The bolded part read better when I typed it than it does now. It was more a question to those above you who didn't want to hear her opinion at all. My apologies for that confusion! Last thing that is slightly, ok probably a lot political (ha), but to me this isn't about Left/Right this election. It is more about saving the right's of many. I have friends who are republican who are not voting for Trump because they agree with that difference. Ok that was probably more Lavender room stuff and I am going to get heat from many on it but oh well!

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But you cannot have it both ways. The athletes are people and telling them to "stick to sports" means that the only people that talk about politics are politicians and people who study politics and work in that field. As a poster above sports and politics have never been separate. Once athletes figured out they have a platform to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves they have done it and they should unless we are creating a double standard in only allowing certain people to be political.

And that last part is great that you can "remove my mind from what is going on around me" but the fact is that many people can NEVER do that which is why those athletes speaking out is so important.

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Yes with bombardment in social media of US politics.. I come here to get away from that. A different kind of politics.. like equipment doping :)

Ummmmmmm, yeah. That’s the difference between a vote and a “vote for ___” ad. I think everyone should vote. I don’t think everyone should vote for the same persons as I do.