The world of sport, we are often told (though always to inward laughter), is “above politics”. So there was an electric moment when, at the beginning of this year’s ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) awards last week, four black basketball stars stood shoulder to shoulder to deliver a speech about just that.

They called for an end to racial profiling by the police and gun violence in black communities — and for athletes and other leaders to lead the way in putting aside retaliatory anger and instead work on rebuilding trust.

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade stood in sombre black suits and delivered a four-part speech addressing the anger over gun violence and racial profiling that has sparked violence on US streets. They did not mention, I suspect deliberately, “Black Lives Matter” or any other single protest movement. That — like the black power salutes from the podium that scandalised the 1968 Olympics — might have played into the hands of political opponents.