In his column in yesterday’s Irish Daily Star, Eamon McGee outlined that there has always been tension between politics and sport.
This follows controversy surrounding Rory McIlroy playing a round of golf with Donald Trump.
McGee related McIlroy’s recent controversy to his own public support for the Yes Equality campaign in 2015.
“There’s always been heat over the crossover between sports and politics. There were stories that Benito Mussolini sent a letter to the Italian team before the 1938 World Cup team before the 1938 World Cup final with the message ‘win or die!’
“Strangely enough, we got a similar ultimatum from Jim McGuinness a few times over the years…
McGee outline how he had been ‘abused’ for vocally supporting the Yes Equality campaign for gay marriage. He said “by sticking my head above the parapet over marriage equality, I shipped a bit of flak.
“A priest had a go at me in a sermon and that wouldn’t be a big deal to me. But I have relations and friends who would have an affinity to the Catholic Church, so for them to have to listen to that from the pulpit wasn’t right.
“One club player joked that he wanted an exclusive membership rule for Gaoth Dobhair that was: “no gays, no athiests, they can form their own club.”
“I thought to myself that the club I want to be part of is for everyone, even d***heads like that fella.
“I did so, not because I wanted to tell people how to vote, but because I thought it was important to raise awareness and highlight why the referendum was a vital one.”
“Someone like Trump is having a direct impact on all of those issues. People are so tempted to just go with the flow. There is one former and much-loved Donegal played who genuinely thinks the Earth is just 6,000 years old.
“I was always an opinionated bollocks but it took winning an All-Ireland medal to gain the confidence to consistently voice those opinions in public.
“Sponsors and agents want sports to be full of robots who’ll offend nobody and stay marketable.
“I’d prefer human beings. Contrary, cranky, conflicted human beings.”
McIlroy defended his game with Trump, saying that it “wasn’t an endorsement nor a political statement of any kind. It was, quite simple, a round of golf. Golf was our common ground, nothing else.”