Timeout: Don't trivialize this

Suddenly, a nation whose reaction to athletes making political and social statements historically has been "shut up and play" couldn't get enough from a group disproportionately populated by the race shared by the president-elect.

Even an act that seemed sure to unleash a torrent of controversy - Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall's aborted attempt to acknowledge Obama with an end-zone celebration in Thursday's game - sparked more reasonable debate than rage afterward.

Go figure. Society might have been a catalyst for change in sports, instead of the widely held view that it's the other way around. Or, at worst, they're catalysts for change in each other.

You can't minimize what sports and, more importantly, our athletic forebears, did to change minds and hearts over the years.

But let's not overinflate their meaning. Deluding ourselves with nostalgia does a disservice to us, to sports and to Obama's accomplishment.

However, if we've got to go in that direction, heck, let's give some credit to Duke Ellington, the Jackson 5 and Run-D.M.C., too.

Listen to David Steele on Fridays at 9 a.m. on WNST (1570 AM).