RACISM AT THE PREMIER
Talk'OH! Tuesday
Written by Glenn Javier
During these trying times, Sports Entertainment should be a beacon of hope and a source of euphoria for everyone, especially to its loyal fans. However, it has also been the root cause of chaos over the years as many people continue to defend athletes [and other personalities in the industry] from insignificant internet trolls on issues that have long been overlooked and have now become a huge movement. I'm talking about RACISM.
Racism and other forms of systematic oppression that target underrepresented groups have existed in this in sports for a very long time. Black people in particular have faced significant racial barriers and a lot of online bashing. And guess what? - the fight is still happening. It's an issue of the present and not just of the past. The goal to overpass the ongoing narrow mindsets of racists and other oppressors on a global scale still requires a lot of effort and education.
Arsenal winger Willian Borges da Silva; Source: BBC | Photo from Reuters
The most recent prey of racist online predators is Arsenal winger/midfielder Willian da Silva when he took screenshots of abusive messages sent to him on Instagram and shared them back saying:
"We cannot and will not let racist and hateful abuse become a normalized part of the game..."
Just beside the DM thread screenshot, he also wrote about the need for change and that the fight against racism is not over. With the ongoing 2020-2021 season, The Premier League has been a target of many racist commentaries in the past few weeks. Apart from the 32-year-old Brazilian footballer, other victims of cyberbullying were fellow Arsenal player Eddie Nketiah and Manchester United's Anthony Martial after receiving abuse on Twitter and Instagram.
According to BBC, A representative from Twitter said that the account responsible for the Nketiah abuse had been "permanently suspended". With Martial, it was the second time in three weeks that he had been abuse following his draw with Arsenal. His mates Axel Tuanzebe and Marcus Rashford have also been attacked by trolls on social media. Not to mention other players namely West Bromwich Albion's Romaine Sawyers, Chelsea's Reece James, and Southampton's Alex Jankewitz have all been targeted in recent weeks.
Because of this growing concern, English football clubs and authorized professional bodies have been pressuring the corporations who run [popular] social media platforms to try and solve the issue/s. Manchester United holds firmly on its stance [of being "disgusted"] about online abuse, suggesting to strengthen preventive measures so as not to spur an uproar.
Besides racism against these black athletes, this type of online hate also affects other people of color. A few days ago, Swansea City A.F.C.''s Yan Dhanda considered himself a trailblazer for being one of few British Indian footballers playing [professionally] in the UK. However, this achievement also comes with bad news. CNN reported that Dhanda received hateful messages/comments on Instagram. The 22-year-old later blamed Facebook [the parent company] for adding fuel to the hate fire by not blocking the account from its platform, adding that it chose not to do it for "selfish reasons".
"...receiving the abuse hurt me so much because I'm so proud of where I come from"
said an "angry and hurt" Dhanda.
This was just racism in Football. Racial Oppression is seen in all the leagues and all other types of sports. Well, it exists everywhere because there are people who still choose to be ignorant. Abuse that has been repeated for decades shouldn't be tolerated. Social media has enabled better connectivity to help spread awareness on a global level but there's definitely not enough effort [on the side of the companies] to eradicate racism and address marginalization.
Sources:
- BBC
- CNN
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