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Who says sports mixed with black and white ceases to co-exist? Doesn’t the kick of every football stitched up in black and white bring with it hope and anticipation at the beginning of every season? Doesn’t Chess – a board game of adjacent blacks and whites play host to the mighty Kings and the brave Knights of a nerve-racking mental challenge? Doesn’t the Chequered Flag in F1 unleash waves of black and white to bring out the soulful emotions of racing poetry? … Yes…The very roots of sports carry with it a symbolic message of spiritual essence – something we as humans have just not accepted without proof.
This brings us to undying evil of racism .“The denial of racism is a form of racism itself” – Tim Wise
Racism has imbibed itself as the dark side of sport over the year’s .Take into account the recent turn of events involving all things black and white and it looks like an uphill task to put a permanent full stop to the anti- racist fight. Yesterday, I witnessed my first ever live Premiership match at St Andrews Stadium, Birmingham. The atmosphere was fantastic and all that but I couldn’t help but feel for Anderson and Evra who were singled out for some special treatment by the home spectators time and again. Look at the larger picture and you have Russia jeopardize their own victory of hosting the FIFA World Cup 2018 by reinvigorating the issue with ensuing riots over an ethnic brawl in a football match.
Still, hope floats …
In yesteryears, sportsmen have stood the test of time and stuck at it in the face of adversity. These champions have ignited our imagination and rekindled our desire to persevere in our quest towards triumph and oneness in life and sport!
Boxing – Jack Johnson
The then undefeated heavyweight champion James Jeffries was the epitome of strength and stamina in his heyday. He announced his comeback in 1910 after six years of retirement to prove to the World that White Men were better than Negros. His competitor was the fearless and flamboyant Jack Johnson, living THE life of an olden day celebrity. The so called “Fight of the Century” was worth much more than the whooping $65,000 for the winner. It had become a hotbed of racial tension, with the promoters inciting the all-white crowd to chant “kill the nigger”. However as it turned out, by round 15, the White Man was withering away having been knocked down twice for the first time in his career. His people called it quits to prevent a knock out. Jeffries was humble enough to later admit that he wouldn’t have beaten Johnson even at peak of his prowess. The Greater Victory!
Cricket – Basil D’Oliveira
He was one of the finest South African batsmen never to have ever played for South Africa. In his early years, he produced some scintillating knocks, once scoring 200 in an hour in addition to his 80 centuries in club cricket. Having not been picked to play for his country on the account of being a “non-white”, he took the long and winding road to England. He made his way to the squad and shone with a magnificent 158 for England in the last test of the summer against bitter rivals Australia. Then, came the defining moment when he picked only as a standby for a subsequent tour to South Africa under pressure from the government. However an injury to a fellow teammate meant that he was forced into squad automatically. The South African government refused the tour on the backdrop of political tension. The moved exposed the racial policies of the country to the World which saw them consequently banned from all sport till 1991. The cricketing controversy is said to have been a major influence on the downfall of apartheid. In 2000, Basil D’Oliveira set foot in his home country at long last as a sporting hero!
Tennis – Arthur Ashe
It was the year 1975 and Ilie Nastase was at his notorious best first delaying the match and then taunting his rival – Wimbledon Champ Arthur Ashe in Stockholm over the course of it (something of a commonplace even now – Samuel Etoo comes to mind). The latter simply put down his racket and walked out, with the match firmly in his balance. He was threatened with conceding the match by virtue of a forfeit to which he replied “I’d rather lose a game rather than my self- respect “. The committee met and after much deliberation awarded the match to Arthur Ashe on the grounds of unsporting behavior by Nastase. He was the leader of many civil rights movements and often got arrested demonstrating his concern for a better tomorrow. He died in 1993 as a victim of AIDS – related pneumonia but not before leaving his memory etched in our hearts forever.
Athletics – Jesse Owens
He was the chief protagonist in demolishing Adolf Hitler’s theory of Aryan racial superiority. He came, he saw and he conquered the track in the 1936 Berlin Olympics winning four gold in different events in a time span of 70 minutes, tying and shattering Olympic records in the process. Even post these events, he was denied any endorsement because of his color and was confined to racing against horses and motorcyclist to make some dough. In 1976, he was finally honored for his endeavors with the Medal of Freedom bestowed on him by the American President as a role model in times of ethnic diversity.
Football – Pele
The stage was set for one of the greatest footballers ever to grace the pitch back in 1958. As a relative unknown, the 17 year old set the world on fire with a hat trick in the semi finals followed by double in the finals defeat of Sweden 5-2. But success did not come easy for the maestro having been the subject to the harsh punishments as part of the institutionalized Brazilian racism system throughout his childhood. In one particular encounter against rivals Argentina, he and his team-mates were subject to chants of “Brazilian Monkey’s” throughout. This only went to spur them on to greater heights. In the 1958 FIFA World Cup, Brazil was the only team to feature with black players and they went on to show the world that there was life beyond color and race!
These battles have left their forging imprints but the waging war has yet to be won. It is time now that we as fans draw inspiration from our stars and join hands to show solidarity towards the cause of one united brotherhood. Love heals!
Final Reads : 786 : Pts 6
Editorial Score : 9/10 =pts 9
Total pts : 15
