Adam Kadlac, professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University, recently questioned if Americans should "feel guilty" rooting for the national team if they do not support the president or the administration.
He stated that "there is nothing fundamentally unpatriotic about not wanting the U.S. to do well in the World Cup” and that “fully separating politics and sport is almost impossible.”
Dave Huber, associate editor at The College Fix, disagrees with Kadlac, pointing out the support the U.S. people showed to the 1980 Winter Olympics, dubbed "The Miracle on Ice," despite former President Jimmy Carter's historically low approval rating at the time.
Tom Joyce, sportswriter for the New Boston Post, agrees with Huber.
“You look at what sports can do. They can be a very good source of healthy civic nationalism for a country that can bring people together to rally around the flag and actually take pride and joy in something in this country, and I think that's a very beautiful thing,” Joyce says.
Joyce also mentions that a lot of the athletes, while some might be outspoken, really hold no power in a political scale. Therefore, he says holding these views against them isn't fair to the hard work that they've put in to represent their country.
“If you don't like Donald Trump, you don't have to listen to him speak. You can vote against his party. You can do a lot of things, but taking it out on great young athletes who are trying to put on a show for the world, I don't think that's right,” Joyce states.
The U.S Men's National Team currently sits atop Group D, with their opening game of the World Cup being a 4-1 win against Paraguay. They will face Australia on Friday, June 19, with kick off being at 3 p.m. EST.
