"Stick to sports" is a phrase used in sports journalism and scholarship, primarily in the United States, to indicate the view that professional athletes should refrain from political or cultural commentary.
A 2019 experimental study found that audience perceptions of a fictional athlete who refused to "stick to sports" in public became more negative, but perceptions of the athlete's team did not change.[5] Proponents of sticking to sports argue that athletes should not step outside of their assigned role and that activism can interfere with athletics. Detractors view athlete activists as bravely leveraging their influence to support important causes despite the personal cost.
Athletes who do not stick to sports are often viewed as troublemakers by sports executives fearful of alienating fan bases. For instance, the NBA estimated that Daryl Morey's October 2019 tweet in support of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests drew reactions that later cost the league up to $200 million.[6]
^Mudrick, Michael; Sauder, Molly Hayes; Davies, Melissa (June 2019). "When Athletes Don't "Stick to Sports": The Relationship Between Athlete Political Activism and Sport Consumer Behavior". Journal of Sport Behavior. 42 (2): 177–199. ISSN0162-7341.