The present generation of ours has progressed in education, science, technology, medicine, astronomy and all the other fields that can be named. We claim to be advanced and learned than our ancestors and, as a result, we have shunned many orthodox beliefs and practices that did not fit our present day society. We have left the gramophones behind and are using micro-sized music players. No one uses horse-carts, everyone flies. We are no longer interested in ceremonies and rituals that our forefathers followed. All in all, we have evolved with time and left certain obsolete practices and retained some useful ones. However, we have retained a system that needs to be removed from our society. We have inherited the system of ‘racism’ from our forefathers and are practicing it without any contemplation. Racism is a system of absolute waste; it tends to waste time, energy, resources and above all, it wastes the talent of many persons, families and communities. It has a global presence and exists in educational, social, political, judicial and healthcare systems. Even though many do not believe that racism exists in sports, its presence and practice can be ascertained by a very less number of British-Asian players in the football teams of European countries. Similarly, one does not see Black African-Americans participating in the swimming sport. Even when the players of minority ethnic communities are included in the teams, they have to face racial discrimination (Anderson, 1996; Saeed & Kilvington, 2011).
Racism in sports prevails in two distinct forms. One form of racism exists within the teams, clubs and sports organizations. It leads either to complete exclusion of the players of minority communities or discrimination, if they are included. The other form of racism is seen on the fields and ground where the players of minority communities have to face open abuse, harassment and racial chanting (Bradbury, 2010). The present research paper is an attempt to evaluate the existence and depth of racism in sports.
People argue that the sport is a model of racial equality and facilitates the integration of minority communities into the society. But, unfortunate racism is intertwined in the sports culture. On one hand, the members of minority communities bear pride when they perform in sports and, on the other hand, they have to fight against the racial discriminations and inferiority. Persistent and unconscious racism is real and debilitating for the sportsmanship and wastes the talents of many. Apart for the race, ethnicity, religion, nationality and cultures are also discriminated in the field of sports (Anderson, 1996).
Although overt racism has reduced in the present day society, some forms of racism have been noted in the British-Asian football players. The phenomenon of racism first became a subject of concern in the 1970s. The Black footballers faced racist remarks and were even abused outside the football grounds. Presently, British-Asians are under-represented in the football both in the Premier league academies and professional game. The Commission for Racial Equality survey highlighted that there were only four Asian players in the professional football in 2006. Some have argued that this under-representation is because of the different Asian build that is not ideal for football. In a study involving semi-structured telephonic interviews of British-Asian football players, it was revealed by all the players that Asians as a race are thought to be weaker than Blacks and thus, are not included in the football teams. However, they argued that Asians can do much better in football, if given a fair chance. Overall, this study found that the misconception that “Asians can’t play football” exists in the British society and ‘whiteness’ lies in the heart of English football culture (Saeed & Kilvington, 2011).
Richie Moran, a professional football player, shares his agony in “Racism in football: A Victim’s perspective.” Born and brought up in England, he was a Black adopted by a white couple. He experienced a range of racial attacks in terms of abuse, harassment, fake allegations and even police arrest. The footballer shares that he quit his game because he did not want to tolerate racism any further. However, he is claims that racial chanting has disappeared from many grounds. Owing to the antiracist initiatives and increasing involvement of minority communities in the local clubs has decreased the discrimination to a great extent (Moran, 2000).
Racial discrimination has also been confronted by African-American athletes in the United States. The success of Black athletes is often owed to their natural ability, whereas the whites are considered as intelligent and hardworking. Blacks are called an ‘unthinking natural performers’ and are considered as ‘less deserving’ of their success. Racial discrimination is prevalent in intercollegiate athletics and the practice of ‘assigning certain racial minorities to some positions and not to others’ confirms the existence of racism in the U.S. Similar discrimination also exists in coaching and administrative tasks given to the African-Americans. (Anderson, 1996).
On the other hand, racism in the professional sports is far less prevalent in the United States. This is because of many of the superstars in the major sports, such as basketball, football and baseball, are African-Americans. Also, no evidence has been noted for stacking at any position in professional basketball. Record breaking improvements were seen in the area of player opportunities on the field. However, the numbers of minority communities in front office administration and coaching tasks has declined. This scenario infers that the ‘white’ society accepts the ‘blacks’ in the game because they are good on the fields; however, they discriminate when it comes to social equality (Anderson, 1996).
People often attribute the success of Black players to their strong built, however, the whites are considered intelligent. Similar cases had been recorded in history when the white authorities commented on the capabilities of minority sports persons. Black people were claimed to be poor in swimming because they lacked the buoyancy. Coaches and commentators have been quite instrumental in spreading the racial messages across the teams. Incidents were recorded when high profilers said that they would prefer trained monkeys working for them instead of ‘niggers’ (Anderson, 1996).
In a study done in Scotland, the members of the minority communities perceived that the ‘white nature’ of sport did not welcome their participation (Long, Hylton, Spracklen, Ratna & Bailey, 2009). Despite the verbal racial abuse, the authorities decline it openly. The Sportsmen say that they have learned to live with racism. They also protect the organizations and management by stating that they try to stop it by imposing fines. However, they project their dismay by saying ‘It will not go away’ (Anonymous, 2012).
Over the years, the ‘whiteness’ embedded in the football industry in England resulted in the ‘closed’ recruitment of minority players at all levels of the sport. Experiences of racism between the football players of different ethnic backgrounds were revealed by national ‘Kick It Out’ campaign in West Yorkshire in 2000. However, in a recent survey done on the scope of Black and minority ethnic participation in the football clubs of the East Midlands of England, it was revealed that the clubs are giving opportunities to the players of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. The ‘multi-ethnic’ clubs act as facilitators of the inclusions of young talented footballers (Bradbury, 2010). Because of the long history of legislative intervention, there have been marked improvements in the race relations with time in the United Kingdom and Britain was declared to be the least racist country in Europe. Multicultural Britain has given the Boxer Amir Khan to the world. Despite his Pakistani origin, he has achieved a trans-racial popularity and bridges the gap between Britons, Muslims and Pakistanis (Saeed & Kilvington, 2011).
Sports councils in the United Kingdom have the relevant policies and strategies to tackle inequality and promote equality and racial diversity in sports. A number of European Union member states are multicultural and have heterogeneous populations. Hence, they have adapted their sports organizations to meet the requirements of minority communities. Similar initiatives have been taken by the governments and non-governmental organizations world over to increase the participation of minority communities in sports to maximize the recruitment of talent and all sectors of society may enjoy the benefits of sports. Despite these initiatives, it is difficult to implement ‘antiracism’ sports policies in absence of ‘antiracism’ political and social set ups. Many European countries are in a process of developing and establishing strategies for equality in sports. Some researchers have found that there is disjuncture between policy and practice; while others have blamed it on to the minority ethnic communities themselves. Certain studies have shown that the participation of the ethnic communities in sports and recreation is low (Long et al., 2009).
Today the incidence of overt racism has declined, however the ‘unconscious racism’ still prevails. Many sportspeople chose to ignore racism with a conscious effort and others challenged it proactively on and off the field. There are others who were afraid to speak out against racism because they felt their careers and sponsorship will be threatened. All the above strategies to deal with racism point to only one fact that “it exists” (Long et al., 2009).
Racism teaches nothing of value and breeds hatred. Since ‘sports are a reflection of society,’ we can understand that our global society is engrossed with racism. We are wasting talents of the minority communities. The true sportsmanship is demonstrated by respect, fairness, civility, honesty and responsibility. Any person who is directly or indirectly associated with sports is expected to have an ethical conduct that reflects a higher standard than the law (Anderson, 1996). We can conclude that antiracism within the sports is spreading, but there is still much work to be done, both in and out of the sports.
References
Anonymous. (2012). Racism in Spanish football does not exist, says RFEF chief executive Llona. Sportsmail Reporter. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2215783/Racism-Spanish-football-does-exist-says-RFEF-chief-executive-Llona.html#ixzz34GKLtucG
Anderson, P. M. (1996). Racism in sports: A question of ethics. Marquette Sports Law Journal, 6(2), 357-408.
Bradbury, S. (2010). From racial exclusions to new inclusions: Black and minority ethnic participation in football clubs in the East Midlands of England. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 46(1), 23-44.
Long, J., Hylton, K., Spracklen, K., Ratna, A. & Bailey, S. (2009). Systematic review of the literature on Black and minority ethnic communities in sport and physical recreation. Carnegie Research Institute, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds.
Moran, R. (2000). Racism in Football: A victim’s perspective. Soccer & Society, 1(1), 190-200.
Saeed, A., & Kilvington, D. (2011). British-Asians and racism within contemporary English football. Soccer & Society, 12(5), 602-612.
