Syracuse, N.Y. —The tweets predictably arrived as the sports world and the real world collided in historic fashion this week.

Sports are a diversion. Sports are an escape. I watch sports to get away from the world’s problems, not remember them. How dare these athletes do anything other than entertain me!

I’m here to tell you, in case you didn’t get the memo, that “stick to sports” is dead.

May it rest in peace.

The escape that sports provides from the real world has always been a mirage. Cinderella’s carriage was always going to turn back into a pumpkin and the problems you turn to sports to escape from are still going to be there when the game is over.

While the athletes we watch are capable of superhuman traits, they are still human beings that care about the world around them.

While many of them are currently playing games in a bubble, it does not shelter them from issues that strike straight to their souls.

Professional athletes may be well compensated for what they do, but making millions of dollars does not come with immunity from reality.

The Milwaukee Bucks didn’t just make a statement and go home this week.

Instead of taking the court in a playoff game, Milwaukee players got on the phone with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha.

“They just wanted to know what they could do,” Barnes told ESPN. “They were very interested in a call to action. They wanted something tangible that they could do in the short and long term. They wanted the walkout [from Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic] to be Step 1.”

The Bucks also called for the Wisconsin State Legislature to reconvene to address police brutality and criminal justice reform.

The Bucks showed us that hashtags, slogans, protests and statements are not enough. Specific calls to action are needed to get the wheels of progress in motion.

The Baltimore Ravens did just that on Thursday with a Hall of Fame statement that provided a detailed plan their fans could follow to help the cause.

While the criticism of those in sports speaking out tends to point left, this is not an issue exclusive to that side of the political aisle.

UFC founder Dana White spoke at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night and he most certainly did not stick to sports.

Progress does not come without sacrifice.

NBA television ratings are at concerning levels for league executives. Ethan Strauss of The Athletic reports games on ABC are down 45% from their 2011-12 levels. ABC games drew 5.42 million viewers on average in ’11-12. The final tally on this latest 2019-20 season was 2.95 million average viewers on ABC games.

When the protests of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and several NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem were at their peak in 2016, NFL ratings took a 20% hit.

Television ratings fluctuate for a myriad of reasons, especially in the cord-cutting era, but it would be naive to think player activism wasn’t a root cause of the drop.

It really speaks to how far we are willing to go when it comes to rooting for the athletes we watch.

If you support them to win in their chosen sport, why wouldn’t you support them to help others win at life?

Sports has always provided a report card on where the United States stands on change, progress and recovery.

Think of the impact names like Jackie Robinson, Ernie Davis, Tommy Smith, John Carlos, Muhammad Ali and so many more have made on society.

Sports helped this country take its first steps forward from the horrific events of September 11, 2001.

Sports provided the alarm that rang loudest about the serious nature of the coronavirus when the NBA shutdown in March, with seemingly every other sport to soon follow.

What helped us feel normal again from the devastating and ongoing effects of the pandemic? When sports found a way to play again.

Sports has always been there for us.

We should be there for the athletes that play it, and not just for the games.

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