Not every athlete can be LeBron James or Megan Rapinoe.

Remember Michael Jordan’s comment about Republicans buying shoes? There’s a long history of athletes putting as much space as possible between themselves and controversy, and what Caitlin Clark and Patrick Mahomes did this week was no different.

Asked about the upcoming presidential election Wednesday and who they might be supporting, both Clark and Mahomes dodged the question and instead found a safe space in encouraging people to register and to vote.

“It’s more than nothing, but it doesn’t put them on the front lines of the discussion,” said David Niven, an associate professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati who teaches a course on sports and politics.

“If you look at all this by the LeBron James standard, somebody who could not have been more outspoken … this looks like a little bit of a retreat,” Niven said. “If you look at it by Derek Jeter and Michael Jordan’s standards, you’d say there’s still an awful lot of political activism out there.”

Athlete involvement in politics is taken for granted these days. James appeared beside Hillary Clinton in 2016 and four years ago helped launch a group dedicated to safeguarding voting rights for Black Americans. Rapinoe was an early endorser of Joe Biden, even jokingly offering to be his running mate.

As a collective, the WNBA flipped the U.S. Senate in 2020. This year, the league used its Commissioner’s Cup to raise money for voting and reproductive rights.

But this widespread politicking, particularly by individual athletes, is a relatively new phenomenon.

Notable as their activism was, Muhammad Ali, James Brown and Billie Jean King were outliers. Star athletes were far more likely to follow the lead of Jordan, Jeter and Tiger Woods, who specifically avoided doing or saying anything that could alienate their fan bases or, probably more importantly, their sponsors.

“There’s absolutely a risk if you get involved,” said Niven, who researched the next contracts of NFL players who knelt in protest of police brutality against Black and brown people and found they were worth less than those of comparable players who didn’t protest.

“There’s a very real cost to speaking your mind or acting your beliefs.”

Clark’s Instagram account is now flooded with nasty comments from supposed fans who are upset she liked Taylor Swift’s post endorsing Kamala Harris. Mahomes is getting backlash both from people who want him to disassociate himself from his wife’s (presumed) political beliefs and people angry he didn’t defend them.

This isn’t just a matter of pissing off some of your fans, though. There’s a significant number of people in this country who’ve lost their damned minds, and it’s understandable if athletes fear the price of speaking out might now be their safety.

Think that’s alarmist? The Springfield, Ohio, city hall had to be evacuated Thursday because of a bomb threat sparked by the racist lies Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance are spewing.

At the same time, high-profile athletes know they can’t not say anything.

Clark, in particular, plays in a league where politics and taking a stand on issues are as fundamental as lock-down defense. When the choice for president is between a former prosecutor and woman of color who is an ardent champion of reproductive freedom against a serial grifter who brags about overturning Roe v. Wade and has a history of racist behavior, it was only a matter of time before the game’s biggest star was asked to weigh in.

By encouraging people to register and vote, Clark and Mahomes were able to say something without putting themselves on the line.

“It’s the kind of a split-the-difference thing,” Niven said. “It’s got a wholesomeness to it and a little bit of safety to it.”

Elite athletes are born with unique physical gifts and singular dedication. Moral courage is something they have to find for themselves, and this week was a reminder that not many do.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

Former President Barack Obama received a rousing welcome when he made a surprise appearance to cheer on Team USA as it teed off against Europe on the first day of the Solheim Cup in Gainesville, Virginia. 

The Solheim Cup is a biennial competition between the best women’s golfers in the U.S. and Europe. This year’s competition began Friday morning and will last through the singles round Sunday. The U.S. is seeking its first Solheim Cup win since 2017. 

Team USA, captained by Stacy Lewis, features prominent players such as Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Allisen Corpuz and Rose Zhang. 

Obama is a well-known golf fan and played the sport throughout his presidency. The Solheim Cup is being held at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, of which Obama is a member. 

Obama had previously surprised Team USA at a team dinner Monday.

The American women won the Friday morning Foursomes (alternate shot) session 3-1, though they still have a Friday afternoon session, two sessions on Saturday and a final singles round Sunday left to contest.

Hill has pleaded not guilty to careless driving and driving without a seatbelt − the minor traffic violations at the center of a police encounter in which the Dolphins star was forcefully pulled out of his car and briefly placed in handcuffs. The tickets carry a combined fine of $308, while the careless driving citation would also result in three points being assessed against his driver’s license; The threshold for the suspension of a license in Florida is 12 points in 12 months.

‘The two citations will be litigated in court,’ Hill’s attorney Adam Goodman confirmed to USA TODAY Sports in an email Thursday night.

Goodman did not offer additional details when asked why the 30-year-old NFL star pleaded not guilty to the traffic tickets, but legal experts said there could be a variety of reasons for the move. If Hill intends to file a lawsuit against the Miami-Dade Police Department, some said that a possible civil case could be strengthened if the reasons for pulling him over in the first place were dismissed. Others said it might be because he has the financial resources to push back, or simply because he believes he did not commit any infractions.

‘Lots of regular people would do exactly what he’s doing,’ said Florida State University College of Law professor Lawrence Krieger. ‘It doesn’t have to mean something.’

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In the written plea, Goodman requested that the state of Florida produce information about the speed measurement device used by Miami-Dade police prior to the traffic stop. Officer Manuel Batista wrote in the citations that, per ‘visual estimation,’ Hill was traveling about 60 miles per hour in a heavily-trafficked area near Hard Rock Stadium prior to the Dolphins’ season-opening game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The speed limit in that stretch of roadway is 40 mph.

While Hill was not ticketed specifically for speeding, the citations appear to cite his speed as a key factor in the allegation that he was driving carelessly. And if the only basis for Hill’s speed was an officer’s estimation, that could be a way for him to challenge the citations, according to Tim Jansen, a Florida-based criminal defense attorney who has previously represented athletes accused of wrongdoing.

‘He clearly has a basis to challenge the charges. And he has the means to challenge the charges,’ Jansen said. ‘I can’t predict his motive, what they’re trying to do, but I’m sure he has good legal counsel that has instructed him to file not guilty.’

In the body-cam footage, Hill appeared to acknowledge to officers that he was traveling 55 mph prior to being pulled over. But that would not preclude him from challenging the violations.

‘People fight traffic tickets for two reasons,’ Cleveland-based attorney Danny Karon added. ‘They think they’re innocent, or they have enough money to force the state to meet its burden of proof, which is beyond a reasonable doubt.’

The minor traffic infringements led to an encounter with police that has since made national headlines and renewed long-standing conversations about officers’ use of force.

According to the body-cam footage, at least three Miami-Dade police officers removed Hill from his car after he rolled up his window during the traffic stop, despite being asked to not do so and to exit the vehicle. The officers took Hill to the ground, put him in handcuffs and then forced him into a sitting position on a nearby curb, where he sat for about 15 minutes. One of the officers involved in the traffic stop, 27-year veteran Danny Torres, has since been placed on administrative duties pending the results of an internal investigation into his conduct.

Hill reiterated Thursday that he believes Torres should be fired, while also acknowledging that ‘I could’ve been better’ during the traffic stop.

‘Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not,’ he said in a news conference Wednesday. ‘But at the end of the day, I wish I could go back and do things a bit differently.’

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.

Another Georgia football player was arrested Thursday night on a reckless driving charge.

Cornerback Daniel Harris was stopped on the Georgia 10 loop at College Station Road driving a 2018 Jeep Cherokee 106 miles per hour – 41 miles over the speed limit – while passing two other vehicles on a wet road in the rain at 8:03 p.m., according to an incident report obtained by the Athens Banner-Herald. The speed was indicated by Dragon Eye Lidar.

The sophomore from Miami was pulled over by Athens-Clarke County police and booked into the Clarke County Jail at 10:40 p.m. and released at 11:49 p.m. on $50 in bonds, according to the online booking report.

The arrest came less than 48 hours before Georgia’s Saturday night game at Kentucky.

A Georgia spokesman did not immediately return a message about Harris’ status for the game.

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Georgia has had at least 30 arrests or citations for speeding, reckless driving or racing since the crash that killed offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy on Jan. 15, 2023. Police said LeCroy and defensive tackle Jalen Carter were racing at about 104 miles per hour. Carter plead no contest to racing and reckless driving.

Harris has four tackles in the first two games of this season as a top backup at cornerback. Georgia also has five-star freshman Ellis Robinson that could see more snaps behind starters Daylen Everette and Julian Humphrey if Harris doesn’t play.

When police stopped Harris, the vehicle had a temporary tag that expired on Aug. 4., 2024. Harris was placed in custody after exiting the vehicle. The vehicle registration expired on March 8, 2024, according to a check by police and also showed it had no insurance coverage, the incident report said.

The driver’s seatbelt was buckled without anyone in the seat, police, said, ‘indicating it was behind his seat while he was driving and not being worn across the chest and lap,’ the report said.

The driver’s side window tint was also noticed to be dark. It showed ’04 percent light transmission.’

The Miami Dolphins don’t play again until Sept. 22. But that layoff won’t prevent – and might even fuel – speculation about the football future of their injured quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.

The Pro Bowler suffered what was at least the third concussion of his five-year NFL career in Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills and exhibited the same ‘fencing’ response that he displayed when he was knocked out of a prime-time game two years ago in Cincinnati.

Tagovailoa was ruled out almost immediately after leaving the game against Buffalo, his concussion diagnosis arriving with unusual speed compared to the typical timeline for most players who sustain in-game head injuries. The circumstances around his latest setback unsurprisingly led to virtually instantaneous calls for Tagovailoa, 26, who’s married with children, to strongly consider retirement.

‘It’s so sad, guy just got paid,’ Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez said on Prime Video’s postgame show in the game’s immediate aftermath.

‘It was great to be Tua, and it is great to be Tua. However I’m looking at these concussions,’ Gonzalez continued, ‘if I’m him, at this point, I’m seriously considering retiring from football. If that was my son, I would be like, ‘It might be time.’ This stuff is not what you want to play around with.

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‘Tua’s future? I’m thinking retirement here.’

After passing for a career-best 4,624 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2023, Tagovailoa, a first-round draft pick in 2020 out of Alabama – where he suffered another concussion – signed a four-year extension in July worth up to $212.4 million with $167 million guaranteed. However money, statistics and wins had been relegated deeply onto the back burner Thursday evening.

‘The furthest thing from my mind is, you know, ‘What is the timeline?” said Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel when asked if Tagovailoa was likely to land on injured reserve, which would require him to miss a minimum of four games and keep him out of action until at least Oct. 27. (Miami has its bye in Week 6.)

‘We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are. We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.’

McDaniel doubled down on Friday morning when asked his thoughts about Tagovailoa’s playing future.

‘I think it would be so wrong of me to even sniff that subject, and it’s more in line of actually caring about the human being,’ he said. ‘You’re talking about his career. His career is his.

‘Bringing up his future is not in the best interests of him,’ McDaniel went on, referring to his quarterback’s immediate well-being.

‘I don’t think it’s appropriate simply for my care and regard (for him).’

Asked what he said to Tagovailoa as he came off the field, McDaniel, who’d said he regarded the quarterback ‘as a family member of mine,’ replied after a brief pause: ‘I told him he’s the starting quarterback of his family and to go in the locker room, take a deep breath, and I’ll see you soon.’

There’s little debate that Tagovailoa’s circumstances carry much more gravity than a player suffering from chronic knee or shoulder issues.

‘There’s so many injuries we can have surgeries for, there’s so many things we can fix,’ said Prime Video analyst and longtime NFL offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth.

‘But a head trauma and getting knocked out on the field? There’s really not much you can ever do about that. You can’t go to a doctor and say, ‘Hey, fix my brain and the damage I’ve done to it.”

The risks were already piling up in 2022, when Tagovailoa was concussed twice and dubiously cleared the league’s concussion protocol in another game – the NFL modifying the protocol after that incident and mandating that if a player presents possible concussion symptoms, including balance or stability issues, he cannot return to play that day.

Last year, Tagovailoa bulked up and learned jiu-jitsu in a bid to better protect himself, the martial arts theoretically providing a safer way to absorb big impacts while hitting the ground in a way that would lessen the blow and protect his head.

But he slimmed down noticeably this year and appeared to simply collapse Thursday – and after what seemed like a relatively routine and innocuous tackle by Bills safety Damar Hamlin, whose shoulder made contact with Tagovailoa’s helmet before it slammed into the turf.

Early returns were promising.

‘He was highly communicative in the locker room with the trainers and doctors,’ McDaniel said.

But given the nature of concussions, it’s possible more serious symptoms can surface in the coming hours and days.

‘There’s something about that previous concussion that can make the brain more vulnerable – especially multiple concussions,’ Julie Stamm, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told USA TODAY Sports in 2023.

‘The data would suggest that there is an increased risk of concussion, because he had these previous concussions. How much increase? We can’t really say. Maybe it’s not actually that much.’

Like many of his teammates, Dolphins backup quarterback Skylar Thompson was rattled after seeing his teammate incapacitated once again.

‘I’ll tell you what, it makes me sick,’ an emotional Thompson said afterward.

‘Have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him. And you care more about the person than the player – everybody in the organization would say the same thing.’

Bills quarterback Josh Allen also expressed his concern while current and former players around the league reacted on social media.

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‘You can’t help but feel for him. He is a great football player, but he’s an even greater human being,’ Allen said of his AFC East rival. ‘He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him, just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK.

‘It’s tough, man, this game of football that we play – it’s got its highs, and it’s got its lows. And that’s definitely one of the lows.’

And the game’s inherent danger will surely continue to feed sentiments, which had already been expressed by some after Tagovailoa’s previous head injuries, that continuing his career isn’t worth the risk.

‘I hope he gets to do whatever he chooses that he wants to do,’ said former All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, another of Prime Video’s current NFL analysts, while suggesting retirement might be the young QB’s best option.

‘If I’m him – I think you gotta go home.’

***

Retired USWNT star Megan Rapinoe expressed her support for Colin Kaepernick to headline the U.S. flag football team at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

‘That would be really, an incredible moment to have Colin Kaepernick represent America on the biggest sports stage,” Rapinoe told USA TODAY’s Mackenzie Salmon. 

Kaepernick told Sky Sports in August that he still wants to play in the NFL and would like to play for Team USA’s flag football squad at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 

Kaepernick, 36, ignited national controversy after kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and the murder of unarmed Black men. He played six seasons at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers before parting with the team following the 2016 season. After remaining unsigned, Kaepernick reached an undisclosed settlement after suing the NFL for collusion to keep him out of the league. 

‘He continues to be blackballed by the NFL and one of the biggest sports in our country,” Rapinoe said. “So his career was really robbed from him. And continues to be. So if he could get the opportunity to represent America in the Olympics, and wearing the flag and everything, I think that would be incredible.”

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The LA Olympics will add flag football as well as lacrosse, T20 cricket, baseball, softball and squash to the Olympic program. Flag football will feature five-a-side men’s and women’s teams on a field measuring 50 yards long and 25 yards wide. 

The qualification process for the U.S. Olympic team has not been announced, but there is a potential for college, NFL, and active Team USA flag football players to make up the men’s roster. Although several NFL stars have expressed interest in playing, the athletes who regularly represent Team USA — and have won the last five IFAF Flag Football World Championships — seem determined to defend their spots on the Olympic team. 

“[Kaepernick]’s such a huge talent,” Rapinoe said. “[His Olympic participation] would definitely be appointment viewing for me. And I’m sure many other people.”

Rapinoe added that she would want there to be tryouts so all players from different playing backgrounds can go head to head. 

“I think ideally it would be a mixed team, some NFL players and then some players who have been there for a long time,” Rapinoe said. “I feel like that’d be probably the most respectful move.”

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