Professional athletes have a large platform and significant reach and are known to use the spotlight to take a stand on social justice issues, but tend to be reluctant to speak about climate change. Lewis Blaustein founded EcoAthletes to address this and to give athletes space where they can learn to advocate for environmental issues.
Blaustein has a background in sports and sustainability and throughout his career, he’s spoken to and interviewed a range of athletes, climate experts, and facilities managers to gain a better understanding of why athletes shy away from speaking out about climate issues. He says, “Three obstacles kept coming up as to why athletes would not engage on climate, including those who were engaged on other environmental off-field issues like plastic ocean waste, e-waste recycling, and hurricane relief.”
Firstly, some athletes tend to stay away from publicly engaging in politics, which isn’t uncommon in advocacy work. Secondly, many athletes were nervous about not being able to communicate the science adequately, and thirdly, there was the fear of being called out as a “climate hypocrite” if their actions didn’t always match up with their words.
Blaustein formed EcoAthletes to overcome these obstacles so that athletes had the opportunity to become more comfortable using their public platforms to address climate problems. The organization offers athletes a resource hub and organizes events for athletes to learn from climate scientists and experts.
Napheesa Collier, a forward for the Minnesota Lynx and a member of EcoAthletes says, “I look forward to learning more about climate change from EcoAthletes so I can become more confident when I speak about it, including with my teammates on the Lynx… That way, I’ll be able to educate my community about the problem and its solutions.”
Climate change is an issue that hits close to home for many athletes, as several sports are directly impacted by the conditions that were born of the mistreatment of our environment and natural resources.
Alena Olsen, who is set to play rugby for the U.S. Olympic team this summer and another EcoAthlete illustrates this, saying, “Many of the World Series tournaments are played in excruciating heat which makes playing conditions increasingly unsafe.” She continues, “We often fantasize about night tournaments just so we can maintain high levels of energy throughout the tournament. California, where we train, is ravaged with wildfires in the summer that jeopardize the air quality for weeks at a time.”
EcoAthletes encourages athletes like Olsen and Collier to take matters into their own hands by giving them the confidence to start their own climate initiatives. For Earth Day, Olsen and the U.S. Rugby Players Association led a “Going for Green” event. For this event, the team planted a tree for every workout a fan or player logged in a special app.
