Racism in sports: Respect for human rights can help stop it

<p>Racism in sport is a serious problem that has caused widespread outrage and media attention over recent years&period; From the abuse directed towards Adebayo Akinfenwa and other black players in the English non-league football&comma; to the banana throwing directed towards Senegal’s player Aliou Ciss during a friendly between Serbia and Senegal&period; Over the last few years there have been numerous examples of racism within various sports and leagues&period; Although this is nothing new&comma; it seems to be coming to a head with increased awareness and public pressure forcing governing bodies to take action with KHL banning fans for discriminatory behavior&comma; UEFA fining clubs for racist chanting or individual players making statements against racism&period; So what has led us here&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<h2><strong>What is Racism&quest;<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Racism is the belief that some races are superior to others and involves the discrimination against people based on their ethnicity&period; Racism in sport is discrimination based on ethnicity or race directed at players&comma; fans or officials&period; However&comma; the term racism has been used to describe any sort of discrimination related to ethnicity&period; Although the term racism is often used as a catch-all phrase&comma; some types of discrimination are not actually forms of racism&period; For example&comma; discrimination against people based on their language&comma; nationality&comma; or religion is xenophobia and not racism&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<h2><strong>Sports and human rights<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>The United Nations &lpar;UN&rpar; recognizes that sport contributes to social cohesion and builds capacity for dialogue and development of societies through the values of fair play&comma; respect&comma; friendship&comma; solidarity and excellence&period; Racism has no place in sport&comma; or in the world&comma; and sport has an important role in the fight against racism&period; Racism has many negative effects on society&period; It creates feelings of hatred and lack of trust among people&period; It is also linked with violence and social disorder&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>READ&colon;<strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;humanrightsreporters&period;com&sol;human-rights-stories&sol;human-rights-and-digital-bullying-abuses-you-suffer-online&sol;">Human Rights and Digital Bullying&colon; Abuses you suffer online<&sol;a><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<h2><strong>Why is racism a problem in sports&quest;<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>There are many reasons why racism is an issue in sports&period; First&comma; racism is a societal problem&comma; and sports are strongly tied to society&period; Second&comma; a large proportion of athletes and sports fans come from racial minorities&comma; and therefore racism in sports affects large portions of the populations of many countries&period; Third&comma; sports are controlled by human beings&comma; and human beings are prone to the effects of racism&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<h2><strong>How to stop racism in sports&quest;<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Every sport should be proactive in preventing racism&period; It should start with a zero-tolerance policy from the top&comma; as well as a commitment to invest in education and awareness programs for players and fans&period; If racism is reported&comma; it should be taken seriously and investigated by an independent body&period; If found guilty&comma; players&comma; coaches or fans should be punished according to the rules of the sport&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Racism in sports can be stopped by education&comma; awareness&comma; and zero tolerance policies&period; Sports should take a stand against racism&comma; and players and fans should speak out when they see or hear racism&period; Racism can be stopped in sports and in society as a whole&period; The first step is to recognize that racism in sports is a problem and to commit to doing something about it&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Human Rights Reporters:

This website uses cookies.