Last year, I wrote an article arguing that athletes shouldn’t endorse political candidates and suggesting that they shouldn’t involve themselves in politics in general. I asserted that athletes had “almost no qualifications to legitimize” their political opinions and that for that reason, their endorsements were “irresponsible.”

It’s become abundantly clear that I was dead wrong. In the past week, President Trump’s attacks on athletes protesting against racial injustices and their subsequent displays of unity have served as an important reminder that it’s not only justified but entirely necessary for athletes to use their platform to spread critical—and sometimes political—messages.

Before I go any further, I should admit that all of this is superficial: to get caught up in the theater of Trump’s comments is to fail to recognize the important issue of racism and police brutality that these athletes are fighting against. This is why it’s more important than ever that we allow and encourage athletes to protest and speak out.

Still, it’s a striking and even comical irony that by criticizing the NFL athletes protesting during the national anthem, Trump made their acts of defiance all the more meaningful. In making vulgar and offensive statements about the protests, Trump publicized the issues that these athletes fight for and helped their cause.

Opponents of the protests had somewhat succeeded in silencing former quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who failed to find a spot on an NFL team this year after he took a knee to take a stand against racism. Now, Kaepernick is more powerful than ever.

In fact, NFL ratings have actually gone up as interested citizens tune in to see how football players will respond. As demands from the right-wing media for an “NFL boycott” multiply and Trump claims argues that kneeling is costing the NFL money, I’ve even started to see the act of watching football as a small form of protest against Trump.

Kaepernick-inspired protests, previously confined to a sprinkling of outspoken members of the football community, have now spilled into other major sports. Baseball players have taken similar actions and both hockey and basketball players have expressed support and intention to follow—including basketball superstar Stephen Curry, who made a political statement of his own with his recent refusal to visit the White House with his NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

As far as the qualifications go, there’s no reason athletes can’t be informed activists. Sure, they probably won’t be policy experts, but that’s no more a prerequisite for them than it is for a typical protest leader.

I previously claimed that politics should remain entirely separate from sports, regardless of the position expressed. But it’s fine for politics to spill into our entertainment. These athletes can and should protest and have been impressively responsible about keeping their methods peaceful and respectful.

Athletes are entertainers, but they still have every right to also be social and political commentators. Let’s keep it that way.