This maddening, memorable year has demonstrated that it’s almost impossible to separate sports from social issues and politics. Sports are an aspirational extension of our society, not an escape.
In no sporting environment is that more true than on a national team. A team wearing its country’s colors is no collection of disparate contractors. Its members are fueled by pride, united by a common heritage or culture. And they represent not only all those people bonded by the same, but a literal political entity. They are a tangible extension of a nation, and often all that nation represents.