--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why can't we have a voice? What's the…" description: "\"Why can't we have a voice? What's the difference between an athlete having millions or Donald Trump? Every time a politician talks, they talk about wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a62/mahmoud-abdul-rauf-73356_athlete_why-can-t-we-have-a-voice-what-s-the-dif_24499.jpg" --- # Why can't we have a voice? What's the difference between… ![“Why can't we have a voice? What's the difference between an athlete having millions or Donald Trump? Every time a politician talks, they talk about what's wrong with America. Well, he's an athlete who is also saying something is wrong with America. Why is it that when he talks, people say, 'How…” quote by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a62/mahmoud-abdul-rauf-73356_athlete_why-can-t-we-have-a-voice-what-s-the-dif_24499.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a62/mahmoud-abdul-rauf-73356_athlete_why-can-t-we-have-a-voice-what-s-the-dif_24499.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a62/mahmoud-abdul-rauf-73356_athlete_why-can-t-we-have-a-voice-what-s-the-dif_24499.jpg) > “Why can't we have a voice? What's the difference between an athlete having millions or Donald Trump? Every time a politician talks, they talk about what's wrong with America. Well, he's an athlete who is also saying something is wrong with America. Why is it that when he talks, people say, 'How can he talk about oppression and make millions?' Well, Trump is talking about it. Hillary Clinton is talking about it. And they have more money than most athletes.” Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques the double standard that allows athletes to discuss social issues while politicians are scrutinized for the same, highlighting how wealth and fame affect perceived legitimacy. **In simple terms:** Wealth and fame shape who gets to speak on oppression. Key Takeaway Power dynamics influence discourse legitimacy. Themes double standard wealth celebrity politics social justice Mood critical skeptical Type opinion social commentary When to use this quote - political debates - sports activism - media interviews Key Concepts public perception media framing economic disparity Practical Applications - media analysis - public speaking training Questions to Reflect On - How does fame affect credibility? - What role does money play in shaping public discourse? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Athlete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athlete/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) ## Related quotes > [If writers just sit and talk about oppression, they are not going to do much writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/if-writers-just-sit-and-talk-about-oppression-they-are-not-going-to/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [The person who talks a lot or talks over people misses out because they weren't listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-joyner-kersee/the-person-who-talks-a-lot-or-talks-over-people-misses-out-because/) [Jackie Joyner-Kersee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-joyner-kersee/) > [It's part of the buzz of the city among Christians. It wouldn't surprise me that it got to George Bush. He reads, he picks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/it-s-part-of-the-buzz-of-the-city-among-christians-it-wouldn-t/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [God talks to His people-to each one of us-through His Word, through the counsel of godly friends, and through the Holy Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-walsh/god-talks-to-his-people-to-each-one-of-us-through-his-word-through/) [Sheila Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-walsh/) > [If one talks to more than four people, it is an audience; and one cannot really think or exchange thoughts with an audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/if-one-talks-to-more-than-four-people-it-is-an-audience-and-one/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [People that want to talk can talk. Even a parrot talks. People are always going to have their thoughts on what they're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anderson-silva/people-that-want-to-talk-can-talk-even-a-parrot-talks-people-are/) [Anderson Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anderson-silva/) > [Catty is not cool. I can't think of anything less becoming than a man who talks about people behind their backs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-markle/catty-is-not-cool-i-can-t-think-of-anything-less-becoming-than-a-man/) [Meghan Markle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-markle/) > [“Money talks, and people like science that seems just a little bit insane. It reminds them that the future is tomorrow, and that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/money-talks-and-people-like-science-that-seems-just-a-little-bit/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [All too often, I will see people on the left slam Trump for the way he treats or talks about other people. Then those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-timpf/all-too-often-i-will-see-people-on-the-left-slam-trump-for-the-way-he/) [Kat Timpf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-timpf/) > [“Umit heard from their talks that, once two people started living together; that every relationship went through some sort of compromise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-doctor/umit-heard-from-their-talks-that-once-two-people-started-living/) [Raj Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-doctor/) > [Deep talks with people who have different views than me are so awesome when we can have a discussion instead of an argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/deep-talks-with-people-who-have-different-views-than-me-are-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think it's encouraging that President Trump is talking about strengthening our national defense, something he ran on again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-scalise/i-think-it-s-encouraging-that-president-trump-is-talking-about/) [Steve Scalise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-scalise/) > [I am deeply concerned - about virtually everything that Trump is talking about and has talked about in his campaign and the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-am-deeply-concerned-about-virtually-everything-that-trump-is/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Donald Trump's talking down our democracy. And I, for one, am appalled that somebody who is the nominee of one of our two major…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/donald-trump-s-talking-down-our-democracy-and-i-for-one-am-appalled/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Donald Trump is talking about running for president. He hasn't made an announcement, but I want to tell you something. The fake suspense is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/donald-trump-is-talking-about-running-for-president-he-hasn-t-made-an/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) ## More by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf > [Colin Kaepernick is the latest professional athlete to spark a national debate about the meaning behind the American flag and the national anthem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/colin-kaepernick-is-the-latest-professional-athlete-to-spark-a/) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf > [I couldn't stand for a flag that represented tyranny and oppression. Not just from a domestic perspective but from a global one. It's supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/i-couldn-t-stand-for-a-flag-that-represented-tyranny-and-oppression/) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf > [George Washington Carver said: 'No one has the right to come into this world and go out of it without leaving distinct and legitimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/george-washington-carver-said-no-one-has-the-right-to-come-into-this/) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Explore all 4 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf quotes ## More Athlete quotes > [As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-de-la-hoya/as-a-professional-athlete-and-someone-who-has-spent-almost-his-entire/) [Oscar De La Hoya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-de-la-hoya/) > [I'd noticed him watching me for a year or so, especially when we'd play games where there was running or jumping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/i-d-noticed-him-watching-me-for-a-year-or-so-especially-when-we-d/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gottschall/i-think-what-bothers-us-about-fighting-sports-isn-t-the-damage-to-the/) [Jonathan Gottschall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gottschall/) > [Athletes at all ages are bigger and stronger than ever before. And they are being encouraged - sometimes even incentivized, as we recently learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/athletes-at-all-ages-are-bigger-and-stronger-than-ever-before-and/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mansell/i-think-life-is-full-of-challenges-and-problems-i-don-t-believe-that/) [Nigel Mansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mansell/) > [I'd never been much of an athlete, due to a physical condition I'd had since birth (unathleticism). Perhaps if there were a sport centered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-d-never-been-much-of-an-athlete-due-to-a-physical-condition-i-d-had/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-collins/i-didn-t-set-out-to-be-the-first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a/) [Jason Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-collins/) > [I like to push characters to extremes so they have to make really tough decisions and there is no life more extreme than that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/i-like-to-push-characters-to-extremes-so-they-have-to-make-really/) [Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/) > [I don't want to say names, but there are certain companies I won't work with because of previous people they've worked with. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-morgan/i-don-t-want-to-say-names-but-there-are-certain-companies-i-won-t/) [Alex Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-morgan/) > [We are like highly trained athletes, who never run a race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-samuelson/we-are-like-highly-trained-athletes-who-never-run-a-race/) [Paul Samuelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-samuelson/) > [There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-riley/there-are-only-two-options-regarding-commitment-you-re-either-in-or/) [Pat Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-riley/) > [I didn't aspire to be a good sport; 'champion' was good enough for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-perry/i-didn-t-aspire-to-be-a-good-sport-champion-was-good-enough-for-me/) [Fred Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-perry/) > [Treat yourself like an overweight, out of shape person and that's what you will be. Why not train and treat yourself like an athlete?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chalene-johnson/treat-yourself-like-an-overweight-out-of-shape-person-and-that-s-what/) [Chalene Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chalene-johnson/) [Browse all 2,455 Athlete quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/athlete/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Why can't we have a voice? What's the difference between an athlete having millions or Donald Trump? Every time a politician talks, they talk about what's wrong with America. Well, he's an athlete who is also saying something is wrong with America. Why is it that when he talks, people say, 'How can he talk about oppression and make millions?' Well, Trump is talking about it. Hillary Clinton is talking about it. 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