Three weeks
ago Donald Sterling, owner of the NBA team Los Angeles Clippers, caused a stir with
racist remarks. Sterling told a female friend who had posted an Instagram
picture of herself with former Los Angeles Lakers player Magic Johnson that it
bothered him “that she associated with black people” and that he didn’t want
her to bring any to his games. The taped conversation received wide public
backlash as not only well known basketball players stepped up to criticize Sterling,
but also sponsors of the basketball team distanced themselves from him. The
players of the Los Angeles Clippers staged a silent protest in their next game,
wearing their warm-up gear inside out to obscure their team logo.
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| Clippers players wearing their warm-up gear inside out |
A few days
after the incident, on April 29, the NBA issued a life-time ban and a $2.5
million fine (the highest allowable fine in the league) on Sterling. The ban
prohibits Sterling from attending any NBA games, entering the Clippers
facilities or being involved in any business decisions of the organization.
Further it is discussed if Sterling’s wife Rochelle, who has served as a
co-owner of the team since Sterling bought it in 1981, should take over the
ownership and management of the Clippers.
The Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks also attracted
public attention when she suggested in her column that Sterling might want to
buy an NHL team since he won’t have to worry about black players in hockey.
Hockey is still considered a traditional white sport with few black players
making it to the big show.
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| P. K. Subban |
The players
with a minority background that actually make it to the NHL are often targeted
by racial slurs. Popular example is P. K. Subban, defenseman for Team Canada and
the Montreal Canadiens, a team that currently plays their arch-rival, the
Boston Bruins, in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Granted the fact that the rivalry
between the two teams is one of the longest and most passionate in the whole
league, it’s still disgusting to see that a lot of Bruins fans choose to focus
on attacking Subban for his racial background. Hateful chants against a rival
team come natural in a playoff-series, but booing a black player on the
opposing team simply for the fact that he is black is unnecessary and distasteful.
However,
racism is of course not only a problem in American sports. It has been a big
issue in European sports, especially in football, as well. Monkey chants and
other racial abuse occur more often than not in the top leagues in football in
Europe. The most recent incident happened during a football game in Spain, when
FC Barcelona player Dani Alves was targeted by a fan of Villareal who threw a
banana at him. Alves reacted to the attack in a way that earned him praise from
all around the world: he peeled the banana and took a bite. His teammate Neymar
consequently posted a picture of himself eating a banana after the game, a move
that was followed by many other footballers and went viral on social networks. The man
who had thrown the banana was later found and fined €12,000 as well as
withdrawn his season ticket by Villareal.
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| Footballers supporting Dani Alves |
In my
opinion it’s shocking that in the modern time we live in there are still people
who continue being irrationally hateful against others based on their racial
background. Professional sports organizations are something that should bring
entertainment and joy in people’s lives and that should unite fans all around
the world. However, instead of just cheering on their teams, some people seem to feel the need to discriminate against others even
while watching their favorite
sport. I think it’s sad that we live in a world where racism is still such a
persistent issue that doesn’t seem likely to disappear in the near future.
Sources: Donald Sterling's racist remarks
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