Index – Sports – Bananas no longer fly, but racism in sports continues to rise



[ad_1]

Racism and its treatment have become a key issue in international football in recent years. The year 2007 can also be considered as a turning point, since it was one of the years that

  • I used to play for Olympique de Lyon at the time Milan Baros he told the Rennes attacker Stephane Mbiánakto “stink” – Czech footballer was not found guilty of racism but hit three matchesthey were forbidden,
  • according to the position Roman weidenfeller, the Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper called him a “black pig” Asamoah gyant,
  • In the Lithuania-France match, the local fans stretched a mill with a map of Africa painted in the colors of the French flag, “We support French diversity” with subtitles,
  • the israeli Avram scholarship , whose father was a Holocaust survivor of Polish descent, became Chelsea’s manager and also received death threats from English supporters.

One of the most memorable moments occurred in April 2014, when Barcelona hosted Villarreal’s home. Defender of the Catalans, Daniel Alves He went out for a corner and a banana was thrown onto the field from the local fan camp. The Brazilian footballer responded well: he picked up and ate the fruit, then threw his skin away and took the corner kick.

The qualifying rounds of the Bulgaria-England European Championship last October also had serious consequences, with the national fans. Tyrone mingst they were insulted and Nazi armies were formed. The Bulgarian federation was punished, Boriszlav Mikhailov and the president resigned.

Years ago, both the International Football Association (FIFA) and UEFA launched an anti-racism campaign called “say no to racism”. In April 2019 Aleksander ceferin At the initiative of the UEFA president, the

referees to stop a match if a racist incident occurs, Gianni Infantino And the FIFA president has promised tough sanctions.

However, several footballers are of the opinion that international organizations should take even stronger measures against racism.

Racism also has deep roots in the United States and this is reflected on the sports fields. Several athletes have tried to draw attention to the racism present in the country, taking advantage of the fact that their message reaches many more people than if the average person were protesting.

The most notorious move is the former San Francisco 49ers boss, Colin Kaepernick He began by listening to the American anthem while sitting in one of the preseason games in 2016. He later “changed” this by kneeling,

to protest against American repression, police violence and systemic racism.

His action was ambiguous, but it was received quite negatively. At that time, he did not know, maybe he only guessed, that later the majority would side with his party, but at that moment he left the fight losing, because after 2017 no one gave him a contract. He also sued the NFL because he said the owners rallied against him and became an undesirable person in the league. Two years later, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement, but Kaepernick hasn’t had a team since.

In the case, of course Donald trump He also spoke, who at the time demanded Kaepernick’s removal from the NFL, but several players joined the player and the kneeling movement. Nike was backing it too, in 2018 they co-created the sports equipment maker’s commercial, which sounded huge.

There was also an example of a racist incident in the NHL. In September 2011, he played a demo game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Detroit Red Wings in London, Canada. At the meeting, a shot was decided, and when the Flyers flyer, Wayne simmonds He started with the puck heading for Detroit’s gate, then a banana was thrown from the stands (Simmonds shot the penalty anyway). The case was already raising a great deal of dust at the time, but it did not involve serious penalties or changes.

different to Akim Aliu statement from last year. The forward tweeted in November 2019 that his coach had been trained for years before, including as a player for AHL Rockford Ice Hogs. Bill peters repeatedly referred to him and the music he was listening to in the locker room with racist words. When the case came to light, Peters ran the Calgary Flames and tendered his resignation days later.

Former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers in the NBA, Donald sterling The biggest scandal erupted in 2014 when a phone conversation came to light.

As the footage shows, he told his ex-girlfriend that he didn’t like the fact that the Clippers appeared in public at home with people of color (in this case, Magic Johnson).

Between the four walls, you do with them what you want, but you don’t promote them, especially in national television games. The team players and the then head coach, Doc Rivers boycotted the league, but Adam Silver the commissioner was not inactive: He expelled Sterling from the NBA for life, fined him $ 2.5 million and took the Clippers, who have since been owned by Steve Ballmer.

Russell Westbrooknak There was also an incident with racist fans, the former Oklahoma City Thunder manager sending a Utah Jazz truck driver and his wife into warmer weather during a game after they cut off their heads to “kneel like they used to.” Fans were kicked out of the room by the Jazz for life.

Almost without exception, there is racism in all sports or leagues that hasn’t really stopped so far. A black life mattersThe movement, on the other hand, provided real unity and unprecedented focus of attention on this issue.

A George Floyd the brutal police excess that caused his death unleashed an overwhelming wave in the world led by North American athletes. However, the desired effect was not achieved on August 25 in Kenosha. Jacob blakeThe police shot him several times in his car and he miraculously survived. The NBA also felt that the jerseys, boards and parquets with the messages were scarce, so the following day the Milwaukee Bucks signaled minutes before the game against the Orlando Magic that they were boycotting the game.

The NBA eventually took a two-day break, but NHL and WNBA, MLS and MLB playoff games were also postponed.

In the NHL, several current and former players of color (Wayne Simmonds, Chris Stewart, Akim Aliu, Evander Kane, Trevor Daley, Matt Dumba and Joel Ward) have formed an alliance called the Hockey Diversity Alliance to take action against racism and bigotry. . fight.

A Formula-1-ben Lewis Hamilton It has also ensured that Mercedes, who have always been splendid in silver, dominate the field in black this year.

The perception of the world began to change. Recently the NFL, but even Donald Trump, followed Kaepernick, saying they “already understood what he was trying to represent.” Kneeling is no longer a punishment, BLM t-shirts and messages have become commonplace. But, like Tuesday night, the case of Paris it also shows a long way to go.

(Cover Image: Los Angeles Lakers players and coach Frank Vogel kneel together during the American national anthem before the playoffs against the Houston Rockets. Photo: Getty Images)



[ad_2]