The fight against racism will shape 2020: injustice unites the sports world

Wednesday December 30th 2020

The fight against racism will shape 2020
Injustice unites the sports world

The coronavirus pandemic is shaking up the sports world. The European Football Championship and the Olympic Games have to be postponed. But there is time for another – equally important – topic: In the fight against racism, many athletes are leading the way around the world. A screaming injustice comes into the spotlight.

Not only did the corona virus turn the sports world upside down in 2020. With an unprecedented commitment against racism and other social injustices, the athletes themselves also ensured that this year will be remembered. The death of the African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation in the United States on May 25th and similar cases sparked an unprecedented outcry and threw overboard the old rule of not mixing sport and politics.

The Black Lives Matter movement was given a boost thanks to support from world-class athletes like NBA basketball star LeBron James, who reaches millions of people on social media. Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team had the Silver Arrows painted black to set an example against racism and discrimination.

"Together we want to build a legacy that goes beyond sport," said the Briton, who celebrated his seventh world title this year. Hamilton, the first black driver in Formula 1, took part in an anti-racism demonstration in London.

"I am affected because my family is affected"

Germany's tennis legend Boris Becker also raised his voice. "What was going on in the streets all over the world is the most important topic for me in 2020 and for the rest of my life," said the three-time Wimbledon winner recently about the Black Lives Matter movement. He had experienced racism with his partners and children for years, he added in the podcast "Boris Becker – The fifth sentence".

When the 53-year-old posted a video of a rally in London in early June, numerous insults followed in comments. Becker responded with a reference to his family. "I am affected because my family is affected," he repeated. "I don't think we have the faintest idea in our white society what it means to be judged, condemned, and attacked because you look white or black from the outside."

In the wake of the protests, games of the US basketball and baseball leagues NBA and MLB were postponed, tennis star Naomi Osaka threatened with a game waiver. The pros from Paris Saint-Germain and Basaksehir Istanbul kneeled down before a Champions League match in protest against an incident of racism triggered by an assistant referee.

Political statements in sport were once considered forbidden and led to suspensions and other penalties, but now they have received support from clubs and associations. The National Football League team from Washington said goodbye to its name "Redskins" (redskins), and the Cleveland Indians from Major League Baseball also announced that they would abandon their racist name.

"There is nothing better than action"

NFL boss Roger Goodell admitted it was wrong on the part of the league not to have actively supported peaceful protests against racism, such as in 2016 when Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem. The then quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers has been out of work in the NFL since 2017. "We admit that it was wrong not to listen to the NFL players sooner and encourage them to protest peacefully. We believe that black lives count. Without black players there would be no National Football League," he said Goodell.

Footballers also loudly condemned racism. In the Bundesliga, Premier League and other leagues, players kneeled to express their support for the protests against racism. "I see it as a big step for the Premier League to allow this to happen. It shows that we are going in the right direction," said Manchester City's Raheem Sterling. The world football association Fifa, the European football union Uefa and the national associations supported these gestures.

The UEFA slogan "No to Racism" was prominently represented in the match between PSG and Basaksehir after the racism incident. When the match resumed the day after the game was abandoned in the Prinzenpark in Paris, all the players and the referee knelt down as a gesture against racism. "A lot has been said, but the truth is there is nothing better than action," said PSG star striker Kylian Mbappé.

Former Dutch professional footballer Ruud Gullit described racism in a Uefa documentary as "a cancer of society". Everyone would have to take part in eliminating this. "Football is watched by billions of people around the world. We have to show that discrimination is wrong," urged Uefa President Aleksander Ceferin. The athletes' commitment will continue in 2021. The Olympic Games in Tokyo could prove to be a practical test – because the IOC continues to prohibit any political messages.