Star athletes call on sport fans to join them in ocean protection

Athletes are gathering fans of sports to join them to “protect where we play” as part of a new Ocean Conservancy -led initiative. Professional sports leagues, teams and countries will also participate through events and activations focused on ocean health and conservation.

“Whether you live on the coast or hundreds of miles on the inside, the future of your favorite game, concert or event depends on the health of our ocean,” says Ocean Conservancy’s main communication official Jenna Dipaolo. The oceans are a “vital buffer” against the impacts of climate change, absorbing 25 percent of our carbon dioxide emissions and capturing 90 percent of the excess heat generated by these emissions.

The climate action in the US is currently described as “don’t ask, don’t say” under President Donald Trump. However, “Governors and mayors and business leaders, for the most part, will continue to reduce their emissions because it has good economic meaning,” the former US Vice President Al Gore has recently shared.

Athletes ask sports fans to operate for future generations

The Athletes Ambassadors or Team Ocean captains are leading the awareness efforts for the initiative, and are using their opportunities to mobilize sports fans. Captains include the offensive treatment of Arizona Cardinals Kelvin Beachum, twice gold medals winning Ezra Frech, Olympic and WNBA basketball player for Minnesota Lynx, Napheesa Collier and Bent Sutter, MLB Baseball Picker for Cincinnati Reds.

Protecting the opportunity for the next generation to participate in sports is the motivation that stands after the athletes involvement. Something that may be under threat as our climate changes. “I want my daughter – and everyone’s kids – be able to enjoy the same sports that have brought me so much joy and success,” Collier commented.

“To me, this really comes down to my kids,” said Sutter, “I want all our children to be able to enjoy the game that has given me so much, and I think every athlete would like to the same thing. “

Frech is driven by the desire to make it possible for more people to participate in the sports they want. “To protect our planet and create the best world we can for my little brothers to enjoy sports like me, we must protect the oceans.”

“The protection where we play is about ensuring that future generations can enjoy the same experiences we appreciate today,” noted Kelvin Beachum. “Studies show that our home stadium can face nearly $ 965 million in damages over the next decade from high heat and flood.”

This feeling is at the heart of another new climate campaign led by athletes in Australia. National Captain of Crikers, Pat Cummins and more than 130 other athletes have joined to ask fans to support a care bill of care, “to make the right calls today to ensure that Aussie children can continue to play the sports they want. ” Olympic bronze winner Walker Walker Rhydian Cowley is one of those athletes, and commented, “Because sport has given me so much, I want to defend his future, so the next generation takes the same opportunities I did . “

Sports fan power to unlock action

Two of every three Americans are sports fans. Powerful influencers of culture, economics and a main objective for businesses, fans are the blood of sports life. They maintain the power to influence decision -making and promote true change when joining the scale around an issue.

The Major League football team based in Ohio Columbus Crew was on the verge of transferring to Texas in 2017, an action that would have made one of the original MLS team exclusively ceases to exist. In the “one of the most visible movements of the fans in the history of American football,” supporters launched a campaign that gained global coverage. This influenced a new ownership group to build a new home stadium in the country. Columbus Crew still plays their home games in Ohio.

In 2021, 12 football clubs tried to create a super -European super league. While state leaders, European high leagues and football associations opposed the move, was the “wild” reaction from fans, who went out on the street to protest the “greedy money tracking”, which led to the withdrawal of clubs Premier League. This stopped the idea in its footsteps.

Money was also at the center of fan protests in Germany in late 2023 and early 2024. Bundesliga fans protested the German football league plans to allow a financial investor to receive a billion euros in media rights . Fans interrupted and delayed almost every match in the best two men’s divisions for weeks, throwing chocolate coins and tennis balls in the fields and using distance controlled cars to stop the game. The league did not sell the shares.

Whether it is focused on maintaining the team’s heritage, affecting financial decisions, or now ocean health advocacy, sports fans taking collective actions can promote real -world change. The defense campaign where we play highlights the opportunity they have to form the future, not only of their team, but also of the planet itself.