Sports in Charlie Kirk’s America
When sports leagues celebrate a man who profited on hate and division, it doesn’t just undercut the myth of unity in sports—it exposes what sports have become in Charlie Kirk’s America.
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I wasn’t going to write about Charlie Kirk.
When the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA—a Christian nationalist youth organization known for stoking fears that America is under siege from immigrants and sexual minorities—was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking to a large audience at Utah Valley University, I honestly didn’t think I had anything to add to the discourse. I obviously oppose political violence—no matter which side of the aisle the target falls on. Nor do I believe that differences should be settled by guns and dead bodies. And yet, I also do not feel sadness for Kirk, who made a living sowing hate and division, making targets of people like me.
Then came the tributes. Vigils and gatherings were held across the U.S., and even as far as Australia. Louisiana State University’s Turning Point chapter held a vigil in honor of Kirk on Friday night. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke at the event. In London, a far-right rally organized by anti-immigrant and anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson that drew tens of thousands on Saturday also mourned Kirk.
Sports leagues followed suit: The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs (Charlie was a huge fan) held a moment of silence for Kirk, as did the NFL before the Green Bay Packers vs. Washington Commanders Thursday Night Football game.
“The NFL condemns all violence in our communities,” the Lambeau public address announcer said ahead of the game. “It will take all of us to stop hate.”
While the moment of silence may have been well-intentioned, the NFL’s decision to honour Kirk ultimately sidelined those most harmed by his racism: the Black players who make up nearly two-thirds of the league, along with the coaches and staff across teams and at league headquarters.
In the past, Kirk has mocked affirmative action and claimed “prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people” in urban centres. He called Martin Luther King, Jr. “awful,” and “not a good person,” while insisting, “We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.”
For years, Kirk’s Turning Point USA sowed fear among its conservative Christian base that America’s “traditional values” were under attack by immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community and civil rights activists. He directed pastors to give sermons preaching that “the Democratic Party supports everything that God hates.” He launched a “Professor Watchlist,” targeting professors that TPUSA accused of promoting “a radical agenda.” HIs organization played a key role in the growing movement to ban books and censor inclusive education in schools.
Kirk was also a proponent of the Great Replacement Theory, which claims that Jews are behind a global movement to replace the white populations of the Western world with non-white immigrants. “You are being replaced, by design,” he tweeted in December 2023.
The activist claimed that Muslims “plan to conquer Europe by demographic replacement” and that transgender people are an “abomination to God.”
This is the sort of hate and division that Kirk profited so handsomely from. So when sports leagues celebrate a man built on hate and division, it doesn’t just undercut the unifying ideals of sports—it exposes what sports have become in Charlie Kirk’s America.
On Saturday, the UFC paid tribute to Kirk during a fight night dedicated to celebrating Mexican independence and the growing influence of Mexican and Latin American athletes in the sport. The organization unveiled a picture of the Turning Point USA co-founder with the caption “In the memory of Charlie Kirk 1993-2025.” It was also shared on the UFC’s official social media channels.
Other UFC fighters also chimed in with their own personal tributes. Brazil’s Renato Moicano tweeted that “leftism is a cancer” and that “if you’re a liberal, you the fucking problem” despite the identity and political leanings of the shooter being unknown at the time. He followed up with a second tweet claiming that “all the radical left has ties with gangs and narco terrorism.”
UFC fighter AJ Cunningham took it a step further, sharing a picture of Joseph Goebbels, the chief propagandist for the Nazi party, along with the caption: My face when I hear someone say ‘we must come together and unite.’
Fellow UFC fighter and Nazi apologist Bryce Mitchell also shared a tribute following Kirk’s killing that ended in a tangent about Israel being responsible for 9/11.
“Israel hates Jesus Christ,” he wrote.
You could argue that these statements are typical of fighters who represent an organization that acts as the official sports arm of U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidency. This is, after all, the same organization that will host an event at the White House next year.
Yet I would argue that the myth of sports as a unifying force has always been a sales pitch, not a reality. In practice, American sports reflect the very politics of exclusion and fear that Charlie Kirk champions. Just look around: states across the country have banned trans athletes from competing, and instead of pushing back, leagues largely stay silent—complicit in enforcing the same boundaries Kirk thrives on.
And after years of parading rainbow logos every June, many teams and leagues have quietly backed away from Pride, retreating at the first sign of right-wing outrage. Even the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza hasn’t compelled the sports world to sanction Israel. After all, wasn’t it Kirk who sneered that Palestine doesn’t even exist?
The sports world’s complicity extends beyond silence on Gaza. Patriotic pageantry—from NFL military tributes to over-the-top displays of flags and anthems—often glorifies nationalism and unquestioned allegiance, reinforcing the same us-versus-them worldview that Kirk champions.
This isn’t the romanticized vision of sports as a level playing field where everyone belongs. It’s a battleground where billion-dollar leagues choose sides, and more often than not, they choose Kirk’s.
Sports don’t transcend politics—they enforce them. And the politics they enforce are the politics of division, nationalism, and exclusion.
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