Would like to seek comments on my oral which is due this Friday 11 November - 8 mins total
It's on Racism in Football (sport) and need some help / comments. English has not been my strong point
Thanks Fran

Racism in sport
“Ape, abo, darky, black bastard.” Hard to listen to, aren’t they? These are just some of the horrendous, horrible, hateful racist slurs you may hear at your average football match. Racism – it’s been with us since the dawn of time, and slowly it has grown into a ruthless monster within our sporting and social communities. So, why is racism still currently haunting our sporting fields? Why hasn’t this been stamped out? And why are we still in effect still condoning it?

Let me start - Racism in any walk of life is completely vile and unnecessary. Racism’s grotesque creature still exists, whether in the form of police brutality or being bullied while catching a bus to school. Frustratingly, it has even infected ‘the beautiful game,’ football, not only around the world, but sadly, here in Australia, too. No effective measures have silenced this beast from harassing individual players, and entire teams. The use of slogans, paltry fines and impassive pre-prepared speeches have all been mostly ignored by the community. Regardless of these efforts, in the end, very little has changed. When words fall on deliberately deaf ears, when punishments are forgotten too easily, when the relevant authorities do not make the effort to help, eventually there comes a time for direct action.

This monster will continue to spread its influence from within, and outside the domain of football and all sports. The more people there are in the world, the more inequality we see. This is wrong. This is unacceptable. This must stop. So where do we even begin? What better place to begin stomping out this monster than sport. Why in sport? Because we already have a diverse racial and cultural mix of players and spectators across every sport imaginable.

The critical element in all this is the experience that racism and discrimination denies ALL participants the right to be treated with respect, dignity and fairness, and to participate in an environment that is fun, safe and healthy. There’s been so much damage. Hurt and grief are an understandable and natural response to these attacks. If we don’t do something now, though, how many more years will players from an indigenous or other culturally diverse background suffer the same (if not worse) degradation?

You would have thought by 2022, Australia, as a nation, would have learnt from previous mistakes. Surely after the demolition of Adam Goodes’s AFL career, and the recent Collingwood Football saga, fans of the sport of a nationally celebrated game would be moving to a greater level of understanding and zero tolerance. It seems not.

Even my father who played football (soccer) for his school, many years ago, suffered these age-old racist slurs and slogans from the sidelines.
“Look at that wog boy,” or “Too much spaghetti.” You can’t imagine his hurt at the time, and the disgust I feel, when I hear of the treatment he received, to this day.

It is always the minority of people who are spoiling it for everyone else. Unless these people stop, our younger generation will grow up thinking that it is ok to be a racist. Though sporting clubs and governments are now working with authorities to clamp down on racism in football, hopefully this will improve things for the better. Let’s hope so!

Do you realize that a third of the current 92 players identified as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or a person of colour have reported incidents of racist discrimination? Do you also realize that of the 92 players surveyed, 62% felt these issues were not dealt with adequately, or at all. However, I fear that unless we, the spectators and fans, especially those of us of the younger generation who look to these players as aspiring role models do something, racism in AFL and all other sports will continue.

Along with Adam Goodes, Nicky Winmar, and Joel Wilkinson all know the consequences of defiance in the face of hate, within AFL. It is therefore up to the AFL to admit its failures and ensure this vile beast doesn’t show its face again, on or off, our sporting fields.

Being the target of racism doesn’t just affect these sporting icons but all of us. We all try to ignore racism. It’s just a headache that you hope will eventually go away if you wait long enough. But it never does.

It robs individuals’ self-esteem and social support. They suffer stress, drug and alcohol use and have even led to self-harm. It even affects cultural identity. Some people don’t even want to show their face it’s that serious. Surely most of you have had or been around these experiences. The pain you must have felt, being rejected for who you are is real to me to.

Believe me, I have also been there.

What is the solution I hear you say? We, as individuals and members of our community’s must ensure that any racist act is met with prompt and decisive action and consequences. It’s not just your problem, it’s not just my problem but it’s OUR problem.

It is time that skin colour or racial identity is not the factor that is used to discriminate against players, but everyone should be treated equally.

Michelle Bachelet from the UN Human Rights summed it up, “All of us need to call out and openly condemn all messages – especially political messages or discourses – which disseminate ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, or which incite racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.”

I will leave you with this thought from Nelson Mandela, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.”