Seeing Red over Black & White

Nasty by name, nasty by nature. That describes former Romanian tennis star Llie Nastase, who lived up to his nickname “Nasty” by making racist comments about Serena Williams’ forthcoming baby.

His comments have reaffirmed the fact that racism still exists in the sport despite concerted efforts to eradicate it. Not content with that, Nastase, 70, also made sexist remarks about a couple of British tennis players while captaining his country’s Fed Cup team.

He tried to defend himself that his comment “will Serena’s baby be chocolate or milk” was not meant to be racist. As Serena said in her reply, “the world has come far, but yet we have so much further to go. Yes we have broken so many barriers – however, there are a plethora more to go”.

Serena is right. The never-ending battle against racism continues even today.

Whether it is a player, a manager or a fan, racism rears up its ugly head frequently in sport. There are always those snide remarks on the field of play or nasty comments in the media with racial undertones which are uncalled for.

With the advance of social media, racism has assumed even larger proportions. Many players are targeted through Facebook posts and comments, WhatsApp and Twitter. So despite every effort, racism just does not go away. Despite education, code of conduct and strict punishments, racism remains.

Essentially, the problem lies with our society itself. Racism is so deep-rooted in the society we live and sports is an integral part of it. It could be on the lines of colour, caste, creed or gender. But its very existence sows seeds of discord and disharmony.

It’s not just the sportspersons alone. Racism acts often extends to fans, spectators or even the management. Recent cases of attacks on Black Americans affected sports like American Football, basketball, baseball and ice-hockey.

There was a notable increase in incidents and protests at games and even college tournaments were not spared. Instances of racism by fans are rampant all over the world particularly in Europe and the US.

Soccer stadiums have witness some of the worst cases of racism in sporting history.

One of the biggest downsides of racism is the effect it has on young audiences. Every kid has his or her hero. And any acts of racism from then can have an impact on their lives. They may feel that there is nothing wrong if their hero does it. In the bargain, they may turn racists too.

At all major sports events, including the Olympics, pledges are taken to eradicate racism. But in the heat of the moment of a contest, all that is conveniently forgotten. Racism will take eons to be eliminated from society and indirectly sport.

Fighting human nature is difficult and but every small step may eventually become a big leap.

Babu Kalyanpur
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