When most people think of American dominance in the world, they envision the White House, the Pentagon, or Wall Street, but there’s another playing field on which the United States operates behind the scenes with great influence, and that is the basketball court and the football field. American sports franchises such as the NBA, NFL, and MLB are not only entertainment; they are cultural ambassadors.
They narrate, they merchandise lifestyles, and they create an image of America that reaches millions of people way beyond U.S. shores. This combination of sports and politics may seem unusual, but in world affairs, culture is sometimes as influential as the military or economics. Joseph Nye, a renowned political scientist, dubbed it “soft power,” the capacity to capture hearts and minds by attraction, not coercion.
Sports are among America’s finest instruments of soft power, like film, music, and style. American leagues are defining the world’s perception of the United States.
Take the NBA first. Basketball started in a little gym in Massachusetts around the late 1800s, yet nowadays the NBA is a worldwide phenomenon. In Beijing and Paris, children are seen adorning jerseys, sporting names such as LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Gaming is streamed from continent to continent, and global players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece or Luka Dončić of Slovenia take over the league today.
The NBA is not just a sports competition; it tells stories. By portraying the world with an image of America as a multicultural, diverse, and full of opportunity utopia. Kids from less fortunate neighborhoods become superstars as they embody the ‘American Dream’, and audiences all over the world are inspired by it. For the U.S. foreign policy, it does make a difference.
An African teenager idolizing an NBA player could learn to view America more favorably, even if they don’t support American politics, but sports diplomacy is also complicated. The NBA was criticized in 2019 when Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey expressed support on Twitter for Hong Kong protests. It was suddenly the platform for international politics overnight, and this demonstrated just how easily sports leagues, voluntarily or involuntarily, become drawn into foreign policy.
They can promote America’s values, but they can also promote conflicts whenever those values conflict with international interests.
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If the NBA is America’s international superstar, the NFL remains a domestic behemoth. Football is not particularly played in the world outside the U.S., but the league is making an effort to reach out. Games played in London and Germany have attracted large audiences, and the Super Bowl is a global media spectacle. Millions of viewers around the globe watch, not only for the game but also for halftime performances that showcase American music and culture at its best.
The Super Bowl itself is a form of cultural diplomacy. It markets the vision of America as big, flashy, innovative, and free. Even individuals unfamiliar with the football rules know of the spectacle. This phenomenon is then integrated into America’s global reputation as a nation that enjoys competition, showmanship, and entertainment.
However, the NFL also represents America’s own internal conflicts, which then get played out onto the international scene. When players kneeled for the national anthem to protest racial injustice, the action ignited global controversy. Suddenly, football wasn’t so much about touchdowns as it was about human rights, equality, and the place of protest in democracy.
In foreign affairs, this counted because it revealed both the best and worst of American society. Other states observed a nation that was prepared to argue with itself freely, but they also observed vast racial cleavages.
Baseball has another tale of U.S. influence. Previously referred to as “America’s pastime,” baseball expanded to the other side of the Pacific following World War II. The sport is now a powerhouse in Japan, South Korea, and numerous Latin American nations. Stars such as Shohei Ohtani and Ichiro Suzuki have become global superstars, and Major League Baseball (MLB) games in Tokyo attract huge media attention.
Baseball functions as a bridge connecting countries. When the U.S. and Japan clashed fiercely in the 1940s, baseball became something they could share and soften animosity towards. Sports diplomacy between the two nations forged a friendship that no military agreements could. In international affairs, this is the ultimate demonstration of sports diplomacy, mending fences and forging alliances.
Even Cuba, which has had contentious issues with the U.S., also has a love for baseball. Cuban players who come to the MLB become cultural ambassadors, reminding both countries of their shared heritage despite political tension.
American professional leagues do more than just entertain. They extend values of competition, diversity, teamwork, and individual achievement that become part of the U.S.’s international identity. Governments have long understood this. For instance, during the Cold War, basketball teams traveled to the Soviet Union to relax tensions.
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Presently, U.S. leagues collaborate with U.S. embassies to implement youth programs in other countries. This initiative is significant because, in international politics, attraction is sometimes stronger than pressure. A nation that is looked up to for its culture and sports might do better to strengthen alliances or enhance its stature. Sports are one of the most powerful instruments of this gentler style.
But globalization of sports is a two-way street. As American sports leagues expand overseas, they also adapt to suit foreign markets. The NBA invests millions of dollars in China and Africa. The NFL, in contrast, aims at Europe. MLB establishes academies in the Dominican Republic. This opens new avenues for cooperation, but new struggles as well. For instance, when the NBA remained silent on human rights issues in China, critics charged that the league was selling out for profit.
This is a bigger dilemma in world affairs, reconciling interests and values. Professional sporting leagues must also wrestle with the same dilemma governments do whether they remain true to their principles or negotiate to keep alliances intact. The other concern is cultural hegemony. Certain nations fear that the proliferation of American sports sends their own local cultures into oblivion. As basketball and football take root, indigenous sports in Asia, Africa, or the Middle East decline. This creates questions of cultural imperialism, whether or not globalization via sport is enriching or destroying diversity.
Ultimately, American sports leagues are authors. They are telling the tale of competition, grit, and the fantasy of going from nothing to something monumental. This narrative is appealing, and it helps define how the world sees America, but it’s complicated. Sports exhibit both America’s strengths, its energy, diversity, and creativity, and its weaknesses, commercial greed, political strife, and racial discrimination.
For U.S. foreign policy, this double image is relevant. A good sports culture can open doors, develop friendships, and mitigate criticism of U.S. politics. Controversies can undermine credibility and trigger backlash. Like Hollywood movies or American fast food, sports are part of the greater picture of globalization, where cultural exports convey political significance.
From the global stars of the NBA to the NFL’s Super Bowl spectacle and baseball’s place in the U.S.-Japan relations, America’s sports leagues are more than just games. They are participants in world politics. They influence attitudes, construct soft power, and occasionally blunder into controversy. They speak to why individuals around the globe wear American jerseys, support American teams, and debate about American values.
Sports globalization extends far beyond wins and losses; it is about how America presents itself on the world stage. And that is, when LeBron dunks, when an NFL player takes a knee, or when baseball teams shake hands across oceans, it’s not simply sports; it is politics, diplomacy, and America’s global story unfolding in real time.
*The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of TDI.
Manaal Yasser
Manaal Yasser is doing her bachelors from Air University in International Relations. Her areas of interest include Migration & Refugee Studies as well as Public Policy & Governance.
