The current state of the world has the news fraught with grim headlines that call for, as we now do in bad times, doomscrolling. A devastating war in Ukraine claims tens of thousands of lives. In Israel, each new day reveals something darker. These crises drag in the wake of a global pandemic that killed millions and led to widespread shutdowns of society, as well as the disruptive “social justice” protests that spread across the globe in 2020. In times like these, it’s common to question the merit of taking our collective attention off the horrors and outrages of the world and directing it to that other section of the newspaper, or that other live broadcast channel, the one labeled “Sports.”

As you read this, the war in the Middle East started by Hamas terrorists threatens to expand into an even bigger and more horrifying regional conflagration, even as the best time of the year for professional and college sports fans who love football and basketball and baseball draws attention to other, much more delightful areas. But is it right to love spectator sports even as the world around us appears to fray? The act of turning away from the world’s sufferings to watch or play a game may seem, to some, a neglect of our moral duties. “Sports, now?” some ask.