Why I Won't Stick To Sports: Olivia Chatman
College athletics has put courage in my voice
Olivia Chatman
Why I Won’t Stick to Sports is a first-person series written by Colorado State student-athletes. Nationally, athletes are told to “stick to sports”, but as members of the community, they have ideas, motivations and a passion for creating meaningful change in the world. Their talents and knowledge are not limited to fields of play. In their own words, this is why our student-athletes will not stick to sports.
Why I won’t stick to sports? Because I can’t.
There’s too much at stake to remain quiet.
With the climate of our nation this year, each of us has been faced with decisions – what to believe, what to do, what to say, how to act. If it were not for my participation in college athletics, I do not think I would have found the courage to use my voice. Athletics is the vehicle through which I found my voice, but it is not what gave me a voice. I have always had a voice inside me, waiting for the moment when I would find the courage to use it for change. Every single identity you carry uniquely positions you to use your voice, whether or not you believe that to be true and whether or not you believe your voice has power.
Spoiler alert: It does.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama once said, “There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.” The power of voice comes through the willingness to be vulnerable. I have had to learn what that looks like in my life. Vulnerability does not come naturally to me; it’s something I have to intentionally work toward. In speaking about my experiences as a biracial woman in 2020, I have learned more about myself, how I think, how I feel, and why I feel the ways that I do. I have become increasingly willing to share my story, and in response, felt the immense courage that vulnerability brings.
In the past four years, I have learned more about myself than 17-year old Olivia ever thought. Recently, I was shown a TED Talk on the importance of authenticity in individual identity. This was not in reference to presenting an identity, but authenticity with yourself – believing that YOU are inherently valuable. Swimming is temporary – it is what I do and it is one of the many things I love, but it is not who I am. There are so many things I am before an athlete – a Christian, a woman, a biracial woman, a daughter, a sister, a friend. The main message of the talk was that every single person matters, and every person matters absolutely. I matter, and I matter absolutely. If the world tells you that you don’t matter, it is wrong.
I am a firm believer that you cannot fight hate with hate. You just can’t. I hate the systems that have been perpetuated by those who remain silent. I hate the fact that it has been 400 years and we are still fighting the same fight. It looks different today than it did in 1619, or 1861, or 1965, but it is all the same. I absolutely despise the brokenness of the world we live in. However, it cannot stop at just being angry. That anger has to be channeled into action.
Moving forward, affecting change through my voice looks like vulnerability. Be vulnerable about who you are and what you have experienced. Seek to understand, not to be understood. Practically speaking? Vote. It is no longer an option to passively watch elections go by without using each of our voices. Get educated, learn about the topics that matter to you, learn about candidates – what they have done and what they plan to do – then make a decision. That is the best way to use your voice right now. You want to see change? Go out and make it. Vote for representatives on the local, state, and federal levels who represent your true beliefs.
Earlier this year, I volunteered to help out with some programming for young girls in the Fort Collins area to come and interact with female student-athletes at CSU for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. On the swim team, we all live by the idea of “power posing” where you stand with your chin up, chest out, and both hands on your hips. We had a group of elementary school-aged girls power posing before we played a game of capture-the-flag (as you would expect), and one little girl came up to me and said, “Ms. Olivia, I don’t need to do this. I’m already powerful.”
That’s the thing … You are already so powerful. Even if you don’t know it.
Olivia Chatman is a senior captain on the women’s swimming and team who has placed four times at the Mountain West Championships, earning academic All-Mountain West honors will serving as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, a John Mosley Leadership program mentor and is part of RamsUnited.