Sport has a lot of controversy around
it but one of the biggest is racism. It is as much of a problem for players and
coaches as it is for spectators and cultural groups. Firstly The Washington
Redskins are an NFL team that have gathered controversy over their name because
it offends many Native Americans. Secondly Donald Sterling in phone call
recordings has asked friends to not bring black people to Los Angeles Clippers
games. Finally Wayne Simmonds is a NHL player that has been the focal point for
various acts of racism throughout his career . These all link together as they
have offended various people and races.
The Washington Redskins has been in
the center of many racism claims mostly it being offensive towards Native
Americans. People have protested outside stadiums were the team has played
arguing the points of the team profiting off a racial slur and that they’re
promoting the slur through sources that millions of people can see. Radio host,
Dan Le Batard, refuses to use their name on air referring to them as the Washington
Racial Slurs to avoid offending anyone. The teams name is offensive to Native
Americans and should be changed to something more appropriate for the NFL.
Donald Sterling’s case has offended
many African Americans as he told his friend to not bring black people to
Clippers games. The offence has caused him to lose ownership of the team
selling it for 2 billion but owing the only NBA 2.5 million USD. The former
owner told Monica Gallegos over phone "You can sleep with [black people].
You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want", but "the little
I ask you is ... not to bring them to my games" This was said because of a
picture of NBA hall of famer Erving ‘Magic’ Johnson and Monica Gallegos, this
clearly gives reason to why Donald Sterling is not fit to own a team.
During a preseason NHL game against
the Detroit Red Wings Wayne Simmonds had a banana peel thrown at him. This is
speculated to have the meaning that African Americans look like monkeys and the
reason why the banana peel was thrown at him. Simmonds told Frank Seravelli of
the Philadelphia Daily News “When you're a black man playing in a predominantly
white man's sport, you've got to come to expect things like that” with Simmonds
saying this it eludes to African Americans playing in the NHL having to come
into the league expecting things like this to happen to them.
The racism in sports can affect
players, coaches, spectators and cultural groups as it can put a player of
their game or have less fans go to games as they don’t want to feel like
they’re supporting a racist cause. There should be more done to stop these
stupid acts of racism as it puts a mark on sports that can’t be replaced.
References
Should the Washington Redskins change
their name? (September 6
2013)
L.A. CLIPPERS OWNER TO GF: DON'T
BRING BLACK PEOPLE TO MY GAMES ... Including Magic Johnson (4/25/2014) http://www.tmz.com/2014/04/26/donald-sterling-clippers-owner-black-people-racist-audio-magic-johnson/#ixzz43Zus88wc
Jennifer O’Brien (SEPTEMBER 23, 2011)
Banana thrown at Simmonds
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