Colin Sheridan: In sport, principles now come at a price

El Ghazi an out-of-work professional footballer who last week had his contract terminated by Bundesliga side Mainz 05 over social media posts related to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Aston Villa's Anwar El Ghazi (centre) celebrates with team-mates Jack Grealish and Matty Cash.

Back in 2018, as the Black Lives Matter movement gathered momentum and America was in the grip of its first Trumpian nightmare, conservative TV host Laura Ingraham had something to say to sports stars who had the temerity to speak up and out on social issues.

Taking specific aim at LeBron James, Ingraham had this to say; "It's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball," she said. "Keep the political comments to yourselves. ... Shut up and dribble.”