2B — November 14, 2016
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
Sports are not an escape from politics
I
appreciate the need for
distraction, but this won’t
be a sports column today.
Something
unthinkable
happened
last week, so
I’m going to
think about
it. I’m going
to ask you to
do the same.
If you’re
reading
this, you’re
probably
a sports fan, and that’s great,
because it means we have
something in common. Over the
next weeks and months, you’re
going to hear how that means
we should come together, forget
politics and unite over sports.
It’s tempting to do that — to
ignore the most raw, visceral
emotions we’ve felt through this
election cycle — and instead
high-five over touchdowns.
I am begging you to reject
that opportunity.
If you are a mourner, and
you mourn through sports, by
all means, mourn. If you are a
worrier, and sports calm you,
by all means, watch. No one
is saying you shouldn’t still
enjoy them. But to treat sports
as an escape from politics is a
dangerous proposition.
The truth is that sports can’t
be separated from politics.
Politics are everywhere in
sports, from the power dynamics
between athletes and owners
and leagues, to the statements
we make in the different ways
we praise athletes of different
races and genders. If we have
willfully ignored that, it’s on us
to correct it right now.
Sports fans have sports
friends, which gives us the
perfect chance to start the
dialogues that lead to change.
A lot of what I know about
social justice came from a
mentor I had at a sports writing
internship. After work (and
sometimes during), we would
talk about the politics of sports.
Our friendship changed the
ways I thought about the names
“Redskins” and “Indians,”
the ways I watched and
praised female athletes and
my fundamental approach to
covering sports.
They were formative
conversations, ones that changed
how I see the world — even
outside of sports. Currently, that
friend is out of sports writing.
He was never afraid to speak out
against injustice, and when he
did, the common response from
fans was to tell him to stick to
sports. He didn’t, and I want to
follow that lead.
I’m still going to cover sports,
and I’m still going to give it my
all. But I’m also not going to
be shy about writing about the
politics inherent to the games
we love.
When athletes kneel during
the national anthem, they are
trying to tell us something.
When they speak out about
not having rights to their own
brands despite driving multi-
million dollar industries, they
are trying to tell us something.
So who the hell are we to tell
them we don’t want to hear it?
The athletes we cheer
for don’t get to escape those
realities. It’s entirely unfair to
use them so that we can.
I suspect this column will be
unpopular for the same reason
so many like it are. Sports
are comfortable because we
consume them in our spaces,
on our terms. That’s why,
when athletes speak out, those
opposed to their beliefs try to
quiet them. We don’t tend to
like the political battleground
invading our place of refuge.
I don’t mean to be an
alarmist, but I’ve had alarms
ringing non-stop in my head
for the last week. I’m a straight
white man, so I’m writing
this from a place of immense
privilege, but I am petrified at
what is to come. I adore writing
about sports, but every time
I’ve tried since Tuesday, it feels
hollow. It is hollow.
Lives changed last week,
and yet there I was on Saturday
night, frantically writing about
how the Michigan football team
could move on from a loss on a
last-second field goal. That is not
the kind of moving on I wanted
to be thinking about.
The fact of the matter is that
politics aren’t going away. Now,
more than ever, we as a society
have to be attentive to politics
at all times, even in seemingly
non-political arenas. They are
a taboo topic that we’re taught
to avoid, but it’s time to break
that trend. Ignorance has
consequences. We can either
have the unpleasant talks now,
or we can realize what we
missed later.
It’s tempting to stick to sports.
But it’s imperative that we don’t.
Max Bultman can be
reached at bultmanm@
umich.edu or on Twitter
@m_bultman. Please @ him.
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Football can be a calming influence, but the game encompasses the same political themes found in other walks of life.
MAX
BULTMAN
ICE HOCKEY
‘M’ still
seeking
consistency
The Michigan hockey team’s
season has been about as easy
to predict as a slot machine. The
Wolverines
have blown out
the No. 4 team
in the country,
lost decisively
to an unranked
team and won
in a shootout
against an
in-state rival.
While
No. 18
Michigan (5-4-1) has gotten stellar
performances from freshmen
goaltenders Hayden Lavigne and
Jack LaFontaine — even though
they’ve faced nearly 40 shots in
multiple games — it has also seen
goaltenders give up easy goals
in close games. The Wolverines
have had games where their
senior leaders haven’t produced
anything, and games in which
senior forward Alex Kile has
scored from his knees. Freshman
forward Will Lockwood has
impressed throughout the season,
but his fellow freshmen have
experienced growing pains.
Through 10 games, nothing
has been certain, and trends
have been few.
Perhaps the best representation
of that unpredictability occurred
this weekend against Boston.
In Friday night’s game, the
already-young Michigan team
was without four of its seniors.
Kile, forward Max Shuart,
defenseman Nolan De Jong and
goaltender Zach Nagelvoort were
all suspended, yet the Wolverines
played perhaps their best game so
far, dominating 4-0.
The next day, when those seniors
came back, the team couldn’t
maintain its momentum, losing 4-2.
So though Michigan has shown
it can hang with some of the top
teams, it just hasn’t shown there’s
any rhyme or reason to when they
do and when they don’t.
“I think we’ve got to grow
from this,” said Michigan coach
Red Berenson of the team’s
performance against Boston.
“There’s more positive than there
is negative, but we’ve got to build
on that positive part of our game
and our team.”
Part of that growth could
come from some clarity in terms
of a starting goaltender. Lavigne
has accrued two shutouts in
his first four starts, and his .956
save percentage is the best in the
country. And after LaFontaine had
a bit of a rocky outing in Saturday’s
weekend finale against Boston,
Lavigne may be seeing more time
in net.
“That’s a tough game,”
LaFontaine said. “For the team — I
think we worked so hard, and then
I let up a couple weak ones in the
third (period). I just need to be
better than that.”
But even if Lavigne can maintain
his form, he will need some
help from his teammates. The
Wolverines have been outshot in
every game this season except one.
And while early in the season that
could be chalked up to the team
being in a rebuilding phase, that
won’t always be the case, especially
if Lockwood and freshman forward
Jake Slaker continue to be some of
the primary contributors.
The rebuilding narrative isn’t
something Michigan is buying into
anyways.
“I’m a junior, I only have two
years left,” said forward Dexter
Dancs. “I don’t want it to be a
rebuilding year. This weekend
there was definitely some extra
motivation to tell everyone that
this isn’t one of those years where
we’re just going to maybe split a
weekend and we’ll be happy. We
weren’t happy with this weekend.
(Boston) is a good team, but we felt
that we definitely could have won
both games.”
Those are certainly big words,
and it is a sentiment that has been
repeated by multiple players. But
so far, the Wolverines have yet to
string together consistent outings
to prove the ability they believe
they have.
And if they are unable to
build off the success they had
this weekend, the future may be
marred with the same uncertainty
Michigan has experienced these
first 10 games.
MIKE
PERSAK
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Michigan rolls Niagara
In the early minutes of the
Michigan women’s basketball
game
against
Niagara,
the
Wolverines
committed
five
turnovers.
But
Michigan’s
early
sloppiness became a distant
memory by the end of the
contest, as the Wolverines
dominated Niagara to the
tune of a 107-35 victory. Six
Michigan players scored at
least 10 points during Sunday’s
game, and the team coughed up
the ball just twice throughout
the remainder of the game.
“I thought we did a great
job of sharing the basketball,
making plays, giving everyone
an opportunity to contribute,”
said
Michigan
coach
Kim
Barnes
Arico.
“The
most
impressive thing for me was
that we started the game with
five turnovers early and then
we only had two for the rest of
the game. And that was an area
where we weren’t really happy
the other night. So I think we
improved in that area.”
Just
like
during
its
win
against
Oakland
on
Friday, Michigan turned to
sophomore
center
Hallie
Thome to score inside. Of the
Wolverines’ first five scores,
three were Thome layups.
The early move paid off as
junior guard Katelynn Flaherty
made a three-pointer 27 seconds
after Thome’s third layup.
Michigan cruised to the end of
the first quarter with a 29-12
edge while Flaherty finished
the game with 14 points.
“We
want
Hallie
and
Katelynn to get as many touches
in the game as possible,” Barnes
Arico said. “That’s our first look
every game to see if we can get
Hallie and Katelynn involved
early. I think other teams try to
take those two away specifically,
that’s the goal of other teams,
that ‘If we can shut down Hallie
Thome and Katelynn Flaherty
we can be successful against
Michigan.’
“That’s why I think it’s so
great that other people are
stepping up. But if we have
the opportunity to get Hallie
or Katelynn the ball, we think
they’re gonna be successful.”
The Wolverines dominated
even more in the second quarter
as they outscored the Purple
Eagles, 27-6, to take a 56-18 lead
at halftime. Freshman guard
Kysre Gondrezick continued
to demonstrate why she was
so highly touted, tallying eight
points in the second quarter
alone out of 12 on the day.
Michigan showed even less
mercy in the third and fourth
quarters as Michigan pieced
together a 29-0 run that lasted
for about 10 minutes. Junior
guard Maria Backman scored
seven of her career-high 13
points during that span.
“I feel great,” Backman said.
“We got the win, and that’s the
first and foremost thing that’s
most important. I think having
teammates that like to share the
ball so much, it’s an ode to them.”
The early blowout allowed
Michigan
to
showcase
freshmen for extended periods
of time. Every player on the
roster saw the court for at least
11 minutes, and freshman guard
Kayla Robbins played for 21.
Robbins made the most of
her time on the floor, attaining
the Wolverines’ first double-
double of the season. She tallied
13 points and 11 rebounds
against Niagara.
While it is unlikely that the
Wolverines will be tested in
home contests versus Howard or
Western Michigan, who finished
327th and 150th, respectively,
in last year’s Rating Percentage
Index,
more
challenging
contests are not far away.
Michigan will travel to the
Virgin Islands for the Paradise
Jam tournament and will play
three games. One of them is
against Florida State, who is
currently ranked 12th in the
Associated Press poll. A lot
will be learned about the true
character of this team then.
Wilson sets tone for season
DeVante Jaylen Wilson, better
know as DJ, was introduced by
his namesake back in September.
Jalen Rose, who was the
inspiration
behind
Wilson’s
middle name, was going through
the Michigan roster one by one.
But when Rose arrived on the
redshirt sophomore’s cue card
for the introduction, he seemed
surprised to find a fringe player
proudly owning his number five.
Despite their shared jersey
number, Rose and Wilson couldn’t
be more different players. Rose
was a guard. Wilson is a forward.
Rose was an instant star. Wilson
redshirted his freshman year.
The differences go on to even the
shorts they prefer. Rose famously
loathed the short-shorts that
were the trend in the early 90s.
But Wilson is one of the few still
sporting short-shorts today.
But
after
the
Wolverines’
opening two games — both wins
over Howard and IUPUI — it
looks like the script is slowly
starting to change.
Wilson came off the bench in
both outings and put together the
two most complete performances
of his career thus far. The redshirt
sophomore recorded a career
high eight rebounds accompanied
by nine points against the Bison,
and followed that up with a career
high 14 rebounds Sunday.
“Defensively, last year, we
couldn’t get him on the floor,” said
Michigan coach John Beilein.
“Now he’s spent a year getting
better. If he says to himself, ‘I am
a rebounder and defender,’ he’ll
get baskets. These guys will find
him when he’s open.”
The
past
two
years,
the
Wolverines have lacked a dynamic
forward who can aggressively
crash the board and effectively
guard the perimeter. Michigan
has had to rely on players like
redshirt junior guard Duncan
Robinson and senior guard Zak
Irvin to not only face-guard
opponents, but also drop back and
get in the mix for rebounds.
But Robinson and Irvin don’t
have the height or build to
matchup with more tradional
forwards in the position. That’s
why Wilson’s versatility has
become noticeable on the court
and on the stat sheet.
“Defense was much better,”
Beilein said. “DJ Wilson is really
changing the way we guard. We
can switch more because he can
guard five positions.”
Beilein knew all along Wilson
had the ability and talent to find
a major role on this Michigan
roster. He just needed a boost in
confidence he hadn’t received
going into previous seasons.
Playing behind the likes of
Irvin, Robinson and transfers Kam
Chatman and Aubrey Dawkins has
been daunting at times for Wilson.
He could never figure out his place
in that rotation.
But the departures of Chatman
and Dawkins — paired with
the arrival of the defensive and
frontcourt minds of assistants Billy
Donlon and Saddi Washington —
have turned around the redshirt
sophomore’s mindset.
“I think he was kind of passive
on the fact that he himself is a
great player,” said senior guard
Derrick Walton. “He was playing
behind some great players as
well. I think he’s accepted the
fact that he’s one of the key
contributors on this team. His
role is non-negotiable. We need
him. I think that’s the biggest
difference in his mindset.”
Wilson’s
seven
points,
14
rebounds and five blocks against
the Jaguars are just a preview of
what the Wolverines are going to
need out of him. Points will come
for Wilson, but his defensive
abilities are what Michigan is
going to need to lean on the
forward for.
He may not light up arenas like
the most famous number five in
Michigan basketball history used
to do, but Wilson will still make
his teammates and fans happy
with the effort he’ll display on the
court from here on out.
“I smile every time he walks
into the game, because I know
for a fact he’s going to take care of
those things for us,” Walton said.
“He’s been great. He had a great
summer. He was great even last
year when he didn’t get a chance
to play. I’m just excited he’s
getting his opportunity to shine.
He’s going to be a great player.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
DJ Wilson finished Sunday’s game with seven points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
BRANDON CARNEY
Daily Sports Writer
NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
NIAGARA
MICHIGAN
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