The Patriot Games Are a Celebration of Affirmative Action

Every reaping in Panem, a post-apocalyptic country from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games series, follows a single rule. One boy and one girl from each of its 13 districts, drawn from a glass ball in the town square, compete to fight to the death. This equality of representation applies regardless of the district's population size.

Similarly, California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party drew parallels between the Patriot Games, a military-inspired competition for teenage athletes announced by President Donald Trump, and this fictional reaping process. The games, held August 9-13, 2025, at SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, will see one boy and one girl from each of the 50 states, territories, and tribal nations compete in a series of physical challenges.

Winners receive a $125,000 scholarship. Newsom's mockery of the games, however, raises an intriguing question: is the selection process for the Patriot Games a form of affirmative action? The answer lies in the intent behind the games, which aims to celebrate American unity and diversity through a shared national event. While Newsom's critique relies on the notion of "quotas" and "group-conscious selection," the organizers explicitly state that every state and territory must be represented, and each event will have a male and female winner.

Unlike race-conscious admissions, which has been deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court, the Patriot Games' geographic quotas are transparently disclosed. Furthermore, the games align with the Trump administration's preference for individual-based equality over outcome-based criteria. The contrast lies in the fact that geography, much like race, can serve as a characteristic for inclusion in a diverse group – in this case, the American nation.