two recent sporting events were marred with controversy. it was not the play on the field, but rather the attire. as a result, two individuals ms. estee ackerman and ms. jaelene daniels were mistreated due to their faith.
before doing addressing the story, there is an important concept that must be appreciated. individuals of faith, in the public form, send messages to the the outside world. their conduct matters to themselves as well as to other individuals. thus, i offer the following observation. i recently watched a commercial for what i believe is a non-kosher meat provider. the commercial has an orthodox jew taking a plate of the cooked meat and sitting down as if he was going to eat the meat. the video does not show him eating the meat. impliedly, however, if the commercial continued covering the action, he would have consumed the meat. assuming this individual is actually kosher observant, the commercial portrays distorted messages. one watching him almost eat the product may get the wrong impression that the product offered was kosher meat. one may also imply that the individual, who is observant, is actually not. one may also get the message that individuals who hold themselves out as observant jews do not follow the laws of kashrut. in sum, a person of faith, when in public eye, must be careful with how they conduct themselves. the scrutiny of their conduct goes beyond that of ordinary people. [note: in a separate segment, the individual indicated that the company prepared a kosher version of the meat for him to try. there was no indication, however, that the company regularly offered kosher products.]
ms. estee ackerman’s story took place at an amateur ping pong competition. she, an orthodox jewish woman, wore clothing that covered her body in accord with religious practice. her partner’s mother, a taiwanese ping pong champion reportedly “called estee ackerman, a 20-year-old ping pong prodigy, ‘ugly’ and a ‘piece of s***’ at the us national table tennis championships. she also reportedly dropped f-bombs and said ackerman’s conservative style of dress was ‘unprofessional’ and ‘disgusting.’ it was reported that “estee ackerman, a 20-year-old ping pong prodigy, wears shirts with shooting sleeves covering her elbows along with skirts and leggings whenever she competes, in accordance with her religion” according to the article, the only restriction on clothing for the competition was that it cannot be the color white. dailymail.com in the past, ms. ackerman has forgone competition that was on the sabbath which cost her taking part in the olympic trials in 2020. dailymail.com
ms. jaelene daniels’ story takes place in a professional soccer league. ms. daniels, a devout christian, also experienced problems with her attire as a professional soccer player. she, because her religious beliefs, refused to wear a special “pride” shirt for a game. her team issued a statement which said ‘jaelene will not be rostered tonight as she has made the decision to not wear our pride jersey,’ the spokesperson said. ‘while we’re disappointed with her choice, we respect her right to make that decision for herself. “ dailymail.com
the word “disappointed” must be appreciated. this wording is evidence that ms. daniel’s team has absolutely no respect for ms. daniel’s religion. one could imagine a situation where an employer wanted their observant muslim or jew, to eat non-halal or non-kosher food. would it be fair for the business to say that they were disappointed in their employee? the sad reality is that their disappointment was that they could not “turn” their worker away from their religious practice or faith. the soccer team’s actions to promote ” pride” in reality disrespecting another’s faith.
in the leftist world, words matter. the word “pride” has meaning and monetary value. if you not go along with it, you are labeled as a hater and are a bad person to be destroyed. the word “pride” is a word that has been weaponized to destroy individuals. thus, other words coming out from organizations, such as the soccer team, are worthy of scrutiny. disappointment is “code” for hating the christianity that ms. daniels practices.
in sum, it is sad how members of society have ruined entertainment and recreation. additionally, these two stories offer the notions that messaging is a two way street. as much as the team or a parents may want to deliver one message, the athlete may wish to deliver another. ms. daniels, one could imply, would have been willing to play the game in her normal team outfit. ms. ackerman competed in clothing permissible in the rules. as such, these athletes, while practicing their faith, did not impose anything unreasonable upon their team or the sport’s governing body. instead, others chose to attack them for their adherence to their faith. these attacks were shameful. perhaps, there is an individual and a team that needs to reflect on their actions.
be well!!
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