Giants’ Lorenzo Carter on How Athletes Can Tackle the Racial Divide in United States

Lorenzo Carter has a platform and hes using it. Not everyone with a platform does – plenty of athletes stick to “Im just here to play football” and leave it at that, which is their right I suppose. But the New York Giants linebacker sat down to talk about the racial divide in America and what role athletes can play in bridging it. And look as someone whos covered sports for a long time now, I appreciate when players are willing to go deeper than the usual cliches about giving 110% and taking it one game at a time.

Carter grew up in Atlanta and came into the league in 2018 as a third-round pick out of Georgia. Good pedigree, solid player, the kind of guy who does his job without making a lot of noise. By 2020 the country was on fire though – George Floyd protests, pandemic chaos, political polarization at levels I havent seen in my lifetime. Athletes were being asked to pick sides and speak out in ways previous generations maybe werent expected to. The whole “shut up and dribble” thing didnt fly anymore because too many people werent shutting up. The protests sparked intense reactions including violence from all directions.

What Carter Actually Said About This

The linebacker emphasized that athletes cant just post on social media and call it a day. Thats the minimum effort, the baseline that everyone does now. Real change requires sustained effort – showing up in communities not just for photo ops, having uncomfortable conversations with people who disagree, using financial resources to support organizations actually doing the work on the ground. Its harder than tweeting a black square and moving on with your life.

“We have these platforms because of what we do on the field,” Carter explained in his interview. “But that doesnt mean the platform is just for sports. If you can influence people to buy sneakers you can influence them to think differently about their neighbors. If brands trust athletes to sell products, maybe we can also sell ideas like basic human dignity.” Thats a pretty compelling argument when you think about it. Athletes shape culture in ways that go beyond their games.

He also acknowledged the challenges though because nothing is simple. Not every teammate agrees on politics. The locker room has to function as a team regardless of individual beliefs – you cant win games if guys arent talking to each other over political disagreements. Finding that balance between speaking out and maintaining unit cohesion isnt simple. Some coaches would rather players keep their heads down. Some owners definitely would.

The Athlete Activism Moment We’re Living Through

Were in this era where athletes are expected to have opinions on everything and face criticism no matter what they say or dont say. Speak up and youre being political, stay quiet and youre being complicit. Some handle it better than others – Carter seems thoughtful about it, acknowledging complexity instead of just shouting into the void. Others stumble into controversies they didnt anticipate. The learning curve is steep and very public.

Whether sports figures can actually move the needle on deep societal issues is debatable and I go back and forth on it myself. But they definitely have reach. When Lorenzo Carter says something, millions of people potentially hear it – way more than would hear a policy expert or activist saying the same thing. That matters even if its not sufficient on its own to fix anything. Reach isnt impact but its a prerequisite for impact.

The question is whether athletes with platforms are willing to risk sponsorships and fan bases to push for change. Some are, some arent, and I dont think you can make blanket judgments either way. Everyone has their own calculation about what theyre willing to sacrifice. Carter seems to have decided speaking up is worth whatever it costs him. We’ll see if more players follow that lead.