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After his team closed out a victory against Oakland University last Thursday, media swarmed Indiana Univerity-Perdue University Indianapolis Head Coach Ron Hunter.
Unlike most post-game press conferences, none of the questions was about his team’s play. No one cared too much about the team’s 82-69 win or 15-5 record.
So what was everyone asking Hunter about? His feet.
Hunter coached the game barefoot to help raise awareness for needy children in Africa.
The stunt brought in more than 110,000 pairs of shoes and $20,000 for Samaritan’s Feet, a Charlotte-based charitable organization that helps give shoes to millions of people around the world who cannot afford them.
In a matter of a few days Hunter was able to raise public awareness and enlist the help of thousands for a cause that he is passionate about.
Unfortunately, this is a very rare occurrence for people involved in athletics.
The fact that many professional and college athletes and coaches give countless hours and dollars to charitable organizations is well known. But how many times can you think of athletes making a public display for their cause instead of just a private donation or PR-helping visit?
Lance Armstrong with his work with cancer research, or Magic Johnson with HIV/AIDS research, or even Tiger Woods with his educational centers, are the first come to mind. After them, it becomes pretty difficult to think of anyone.
In our society, athletes are celebrated as heros and paid as such. Many people could name the top player in every sport before they could name one top doctor in cancer research.
With this fame and fortune, with the 24-7 media circus that is professional sports, athletes have a responsibility to use their platform for a greater good. This chance is rarely taken.
The only things that we ever hear sports stars speak about are the logos that they wear on their uniforms, shoes and sweat bands.
We know that Peyton Manning swigs Gatorade and Lebron James is covered in Nike “swooshes,” but we don’t know anything about what they have done to help alleviate poverty in the cities that their teams represent.
Allen Iverson may be “The Answer” in his Reebok commercials, but what has he done publicly to answer the cries of impoverished and discriminated communities in his hometown of Hampton, Va.?
Athletes not only seem to shy away from publicly supporting a cause, they are often discouraged by their fans and the media for doing so.
Last week, St. Louis University men’s basketball coach Rick Majerus was publicly scrutinized, both by the media and people in the community, for his opinions on abortion and the war in Iraq while attending a rally for Hilary Clinton. Majerus responded to the criticism by saying that it was his duty to stand up for what he believed in.
Imagine if every famous athlete made a similar stand. Think of the publicity that would be gained by Woods saying that he would hit his first tee shot at the Masters in April with no shoes on, or if the Patriots stood barefoot for the national anthem before the Super Bowl.
Sure it may cause some distraction for the athletes, maybe even put them at somewhat of a competitive disadvantage, but since when is a game more important than the quality of life for millions of people around the world?
Maybe if more people in athletics followed the lead that Hunter has set at IUPUI, then maybe they could earn their fame and money.
