In light of the recent controversy surrounding the Qatar World Cup, I wanted to look back at the history of protests across different sports over the years, and the impact they’ve had, both in their time and the resulting effect on society today.
Sport plays such a huge role in the lives of so many, both players and fans, and is often a uniting cause, breaking barriers of language, religion, and race. In fact, it can even stop wars, such as the infamous World War 1 football game on Christmas day, 1914, when German and British soldiers put everything else aside and simply played sport together. Sport can be such a unifying force, yet often sportspeople are discriminated against, or use their platforms to stand up for various causes. These protests throughout the years have had significant impact and kept people talking about important subjects like racial injustice, homophobia and so much more. Here are some influential protests in sport over the years.
In 1966 champion boxer Muhammad Ali refused the draft during the Vietnam war on behalf of his religious beliefs. As a result, he was stripped of his title and banned from boxing for three years. This was a hugely impactful historical protest from a member of the sporting community, as it argued he was the pioneer of protest in sport and made sports activism what it is today.
At the 1968 Olympics, US sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos donned black gloves and raised their fists and bowed their heads during “The Star-Spangled Banner” after winning gold and bronze medals. Known as the black power salute, they called attention to racial injustice in America, and the image of them doing so is arguably one of the most iconic images in sports history. Protests surrounding racial injustice, particularly in the United States, have become more common in recent years, with media coverage of racial prejudice getting people talking and hopefully creating change. This is one of those times, creating so much noise it couldn’t be ignored, and hasn’t been forgotten since.
In more recent years, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the national anthem in a silent protest against racial injustice, particularly police brutality. This made him a controversial figure among NFL fans, teams and owners; even President Trump criticized him. However, it did instigate a huge conversation and sparked global media and public interest.
F1 driver Lewis Hamilton also used his platform to protest racial injustice, taking the knee himself before many of his races in retaliation of the treatment of black people both in the USA and around the world. This has been an ongoing issue globally and is often highlighted by individual cases that created media frenzy, such as the death of George Floyd in May 2020. He has also raised awareness for other causes, such as when he wore a helmet with rainbow colours in his practice race in Qatar in 2021 in support of the LGBTQ+ community and the persecution they face.
The England football team flew in to the 2022 world cup in Qatar abord a Virgin Atlantic airbus that has the name “Rain Bow” emblazoned on the side. This was in subtle protest of the treatment of members of the LGBTQ+ community in the host country. However, the team has still faced backlash after threatening to be penalised if they wear ‘one love’ rainbow armbands while they play, which they decided not to do in order to not jeopardise their chance at winning the cup. The general public have had mixed reactions; some thinking they are right for not shaking the boat and risking the games they had worked so hard to play in, others believing they should have stood up for the oppressed community in Qatar no matter the risk.
The football controversy inspired comedian Joe Lycett to create a protest of his own, specifically aimed at David Beckham and his continued support for the World Cup in Qatar. He publicly threatened to shred ten thousand pounds if he didn’t withdraw his support, creating a social media campaign and frenzy following his announcement. This comes after Beckham had publicly supported the LGBTQ+ society, even landing himself a cover on prolific gay magazine Attitude. Lycett and many online supporters argues that Beckham was happy to profit from the community being on their magazine, but wouldn’t support them when it came to their human rights, choosing instead to side with oppressors in the name of sportsmanship. Lycett’s online stir caused as much controversy as it did support, with some arguing it was a horrendous waste of money, while others believed the exaggerated reaction was the only way to bring light to the issue at hand. Lycett ultimately faked the shredding for an online video to gain media attention to help highlight the issue, whilst donating the real money to LGBTQ+ charities
In conclusion, sport can have such a huge impact on society overall, as well as being a brilliant extracurricular or career, and truly has the power to bring people together.