When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the US national anthem at NFL games to protest against racial injustice in 2016, little did he know the butterfly effect his deed would have as it sparked debates and polarised a country. But his gesture has since been embraced by top leagues around the world, none more so than England’s Premier League.
A spillover from the Black Lives Matter movement that began over three years ago, the league’s players continue to fight discrimination by taking a knee before some games this season. “We are unified in our belief that any form of discrimination has no place within football or wider society,” the 20 Premier League captains said earlier this year.
The continued protests are, to a large extent, to do with rampant online abuse which rears its ugly head every week, with social media platforms seemingly unable to stem the flow of unbridled rage and racial abuse that lands in players’ inboxes.
WRESTLERS MANHANDLED
Outside the arena, Olympic medalwinning wrestlers in India found out the hard way what lies in store for those who leverage their popularity to go up against a member of the ruling party after months of protests on the streets fell on deaf ears. India’s top wrestlers were detained by police in May when they intensified their protest demanding the arrest of their federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over allegations of sexual harassment of female athletes, which he denied. As images of wrestlers being manhandled by police were beamed across the world, 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik said: “This is how our champions are being treated. The world is watching us.”
MAJOR DISRUPTION
On the other hand, sporting platforms have also been a stage to amplify causes and 2023 was no different in dividing viewers when activists disrupted major events from tennis Grand Slams to golf majors and cricket matches. Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted Wimbledon matches when they released orange ticker-tape onto the grasscourt surface while the group also stopped play by scattering orange powder at an Ashes Test and the World Snooker Championship. Their controversial and disruptive tactics have been condemned by athletes and fans alike, but they also garnered sympathy from popular and outspoken football pundit Gary Lineker.
“I completely understand where they’re coming from, disruptive protest is the only one that gets any publicity. I get it,” said Lineker, who presents BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ football highlights programme. “I also understand why people get so upset with it, particularly in sport. I think what is more important is probably our existence in the future rather than slight disruption of sporting events.”
