Written by Shayan Khan
“We are not born with racism and hate in our hearts, it is taught by those who we look up to” — Lewis Hamilton
Pakistan beat India for the first time in World Cups at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last year in October. India’s premier bowler, Mohammad Shami, had an off game as the team lost by 10 wickets. He was then subjected to pathetic, vile abuse on social media. He was called a “traitor” and asked to “go back to Pakistan” by low-life trolls on his Instagram account.
A lot of the past players spoke up in support of the Indian fast bowler after the game. However, most of those players didn’t categorically address the issue at hand — Shami was abused on social media because he was a Muslim in the current political climate in the country. They simply termed it as a “rare bad day” for him.
Sport is a great medium to unite people and spread peace and harmony among them. However, it has never been that easy for the minorities and people from marginalized communities. They have to repeatedly endure biased selections, targeted abuse. Regardless of all the struggle, we have seen instances of athletes from such communities taking a stand for themselves and their community and speaking up for their rights.
Even an athlete who has a fan following as massive as Lewis Hamilton — the only black driver in Formula One — has been subject to racial abuse throughout his professional career. Even then, he has consistently made his anti-racism stand and spoken up against questionable policies in the sport. Hamilton has also criticized prominent figures in F1 for being silent on the issue of racism.
Women’s tennis player Billie Jean King was a pioneer in this aspect. She was the World Number 1 Tennis player during the late 1960s and 70s. Jean was the founder of the Women’s Tennis Association. She was also the leader of the movement that suggested equal prize money in tournaments that featured both women and men.
In 1973, she defeated Bobby Riggs in ‘The Battle of Sexes’ in straight sets. After her professional career, she championed for the cause of women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. Such sporting icons have a long-term impact in sensitizing the masses and making them a lot more empathetic towards such communities.
What is institutionalized racism? It is essentially a form of racism that is embedded in the rules and regulations of a society. They are discriminated against at every level — from ‘fans’ in the stadium and on social media to their very own teams. The player is often made to feel like an ‘outsider’. This isn’t just restricted to sport in general, but in various communities that have people of different ethnicities.
Azeem Rafiq, of Pakistani descent, played for the county cricket club Yorkshire from 2008–14 and 2016–18. In 2020, he talked about how he was categorically harassed, bullied and discriminated against when he played for the club. He claimed that the team even had an “openly racist captain” at one point of time. Senior players often used to make fun of the number of Asian players in the club, saying “we need to have a word about the same.”
Football is the most followed sport across the globe. Players from various countries and communities have gone on to establish a name for themselves in this beautiful sport. However, one cannot deny that the racism problem is among the most rampant in football.
In December 2020, the UCL draw between Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basakheir was suspended for a day. Sebastian Coltescu, the fourth match official had allegedly used racist language against Pierre Webo, assistant coach of the Turkish club. The match took place the following day only after the fourth official was replaced.
The appreciable thing in this sad incident was star players from the opposition camp such as Kylian Mbappe tweeted in support of the assistant coach. These small gestures always tend to make a significant impact.
It is important to note that a player of color is always treated differently when compared with a white player of probably the same skill level. A study on racial stereotyping in football commentary during the FIFA World Cup in 2018. It analysed 1,009 comments of praise given to footballers during 30 hours of BBC and ITV coverage, across 20 matches (between 19 of the 32 competing teams).
It was observed that black players were overwhelmingly praised for their perceived physical prowess and natural athleticism, and white players for their intelligence and character. This indicates that the commentators observed certain skills and attributes based on the race of the player, and not in an objective manner.
A Stanford report examined data from police departments around England, including Merseyside, the UK county in which Liverpool is located. It found hate crimes there were “significantly lower” — dropping by 18.9% since Egypt’s Mohammad Salah joined the club — than would be otherwise. He has contributed to a decline in the Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism from the local fans.
How do we solve this inherent issue? First of all, it is essential to understand the root cause of the problem and speak up about it. From the players to the journalists, everyone involved at different levels should realize that it’s the small things which make a massive difference. Michael Jordan has used his power to create awareness in society about racism on a regular basis.
Gestures that are supportive and empathetic towards the minorities in sport create a huge positive impact. It is the responsibility of the major sporting bodies that govern the sport at a global level to take strict measures to address these issues. They ought to have well-defined frameworks and policies in collaboration with governments of the respective countries.
Education is the key when it comes to effectively sensitizing people towards racism, and in general discrimination in sport. Implementation of anti-racism education must be done from the grassroots level.
