Recently there has been much talk about racist behaviors and attitudes in sports. This is all stemming from the recent antics of Donald Sterling, current and soon to be former owner of the L.A. Clippers. The way in which Sterling described his players, though it was in his on private room; is a disgrace. His attitude brings about thoughts not only in basketball, but in other sports as well. Does racism still exist in sports today? We may all dream that there will someday be a world of peace and love, in which no one hates on each other. However, that is not the case; especially when dealing with fans, players, and ownership attitudes. It is one thing to not like the attitude of a player or to heckle them for doing something wrong, but it is horrible to judge them based off of color, religion, or sexual orientation. We hope to one day move past this and dive towards the future and change.
Donald Sterling the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers has recently made racist and hateful comments about his players past and present. Sterling, is a self made man; an individual who worked very hard both in the Real Estate field and the field of law. He is now worth over 1 billion dollars. Donald Sterling built his empire through the process of slowly but surely making money in the field of the sports industry and through determination. He was able to build the Clippers into the powerhouse they are today, despite years of horrible performances. Though, this self made billion seemed to be good on the surface, when you dig deep you find his true color, his hate. Sterling has recently been caught in a scandal regarding making racist remarks about his players on his teams, especially his African American players. Basically Sterling has compared his players to dogs, making them appear worthless citizens. Donald Sterling also would go as far as stating to his current girlfriend that she should not show the world that she is surrounding herself with African Americans, such as Magic Johnson and Matt Kemp. Sterling is now going to receive a life ban, and his days of owning the Clippers seem to be numbered. Players in furry have stemmed protests throughout the NBA playoffs, whether that be black ribbons around their arms or wearing black in honor of fighting racism. The players were ready to go as far as boycotting the playoffs, unless Sterling was removed from power. It is horrible to see that racism still exists and is apparent in the NBA today.
With this news of racism in the NBA through the actions of Donald Sterling, it brings up thoughts if there is still racism in other sports as well. One area in which this is still apparent is in the NHL today. Hockey has always been seen as a predominately Caucasian sport, that very few African Americans play. The question is that are there so little African American hockey players due to the fact that they just aren't as talented or is there actually a racist precedent. When African Americans participate in hockey they are given looks by coaches, players, and fans. They also hear
remarks, such as "you shouldn't be playing this sport" and so forth. A clear incident of this was when current Flyer Wayne Simmonds was participating in a game, he had a banana throw in his direction. Basically making the racist statement that he was a "monkey". This is hurtful and harmful to see this occur to a human being. Simmonds, being a smart and strong willed person, skating off as though nothing happened. The NHL needs to have more African Americans in their league or these racist ideas and attitudes will continue on.
Another recent event of extreme racism that has occurred happened during a Barcelona soccer game. Dani Alves, was taking a corner kick during the game, when a banana just like Wayne Simmonds was thrown in his vicinity. Seeing this racist statement Alves did not get angry nor frustrated.Dani simply picked up the banana and proceeded to eat it. Many are now saying that Dani Alves was "taking a bite out of racism." Especially in a sport like soccer, which is so culturally diverse it is sad to see the racism that still exists. Alves made a great statement by just standing up for himself. Dani Alves should be seen as a strong willed individual for not getting angry or fighting about the incident. In a sport like soccer people need to become more accepting of others.
With all these recent incidents, and incidents of the past it comes up with the realization that there is still racism today in sports. Even though we have made amazing strides since the days when Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby both walked onto a baseball field and broke the color barrier. We still have hate. You can go to any sporting event and hear fans making racist comments, see players or coaches making faces at individuals who are different. If we as people don't make a stand, things will not get better as a whole in society.
