persuasive speech on racism in football

GiveMeSport

Gary neville's passionate speech about racism in football ruined by sky sports' interjection.

Gary Neville delivered a passionate speech about the problem with racism in football and England

Chelsea ’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur was marred by an incident of racist abuse in the second half.

Play was stopped after an object was thrown on to the pitch and Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger claimed he heard monkey noises from the crowd.

An announcement inside Tottenham’s stadium warned that “racist behaviour is interfering with the game” and the message was heard two more times before full-time.

It’s the latest in a string of racist incidents to affect football matches in England.

Racism has been rife from the Premier League down to non-league in 2019 and it’s a scary situation that English football is facing.

• Rudiger subjected to racist abuse
• Neville accuses Boris Johnson of fuelling racism
• Serie A's disgraceful 'anti-racism' campaign

The problem was discussed on Sky Sports, with pundit Gary Neville calling for the Premier League to stop hiding behind the FA on the issue.

Neville recently called out UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for enabling racism in England and he reiterated that point once again on Sunday.

"We have a racism problem in the Premier League, in England, and the Premier League have got to stand up," Neville said.

"They hide behind the FA, the Premier League, on this issue, they hide behind the FA, in my opinion. They push disciplinary issues to the FA. 

"Yes, we heard the announcements at the end. But I said it a couple of weeks ago, we’ve just had a General Election in this country, both main parties and the leaders of both main parties [have been] accused constantly over the last month of fuelling racism and accepting racism in their parties.

"If it’s accepted in the highest office in the country, we’re not talking at a micro-level, we’re talking about it at the absolute highest office in the country.

"And it’s the same here today, we’ve seen an incident, to be fair which we could say is down to one individual person, but it’s a far bigger problem than that.

"I think there has to be something that happens quickly. I think we maybe have to empower the players to walk off the pitch and stop the entertainment while it’s happening. That’s the only way I can see it happen.

"Ultimately, I didn’t walk off the pitch when [fellow pundit] Ashley [Cole] was abused 15 years ago and you might argue that it’s now okay for me to sit here in my ivory tower of the commentary box and suggest players should walk off the pitch.

"But I think I would be ashamed of not doing it 15 years ago and absolutely proud of players now to empower them to think, do something about it, take it into your own hands.

"The PFA have to act because the PFA are there to protect players in this country and players in this country are receiving abuse while playing football and doing their jobs and that is unacceptable.

"The PFA have to take it into their own hands with the Premier League and FA and stop pointing the finger towards the Bulgarian FA and Spanish FA because we have to deal with our own ship here."

However, Neville's speech was ruined somewhat by the interjection of presenter David Jones.

"I am compelled to say the opinions of you, Gary Neville, are not those of Sky Sports, that is my duty," Jones said.

When Neville asked Jones if he didn't agree with his comments, the presenter replied: "Whether I do or I don’t is completely irrelevant, I’m here to try and hold a balanced debate."

Jones' interjection upset many on Twitter who felt it diluted a powerful moment.

GIVEMESPORT’s Scott Wilson says:

England can no longer ignore the fact that it has a racism problem.

Whether Neville is right when he says the country’s political leaders have paved the way for it or not, football fans are now feeling emboldened to hurl racist abuse at players.

One possible way to help would be with a stronger announcement in the stadium than: “Racist behaviour is interfering with the game”.

How about telling fans that anyone found guilty of racism will be banned from football for life and prosecuted, and with a warning that the match will be abandoned if the abuse continues?

The message needs to be stronger.

English football is consumed by racism and hatred. Can the cycle be broken?

Wave of abuse directed at players on social media is part of a deep societal crisis but perhaps football can provide a solution

F our decades ago, before his England debut, Cyrille Regis was sent a bullet in the post by a racist fan. In 2008, shortly after being appointed as Chelsea’s manager, Avram Grant was deluged with dozens of antisemitic emails. These days, as footballers continue to be subjected to racist abuse on Twitter and Instagram, the temptation is to wonder whether anything has changed except the method of delivery.

The recent wave of social media abuse – directed primarily at prominent black footballers – follows a well-worn pattern. The incidents begin to cluster with a grisly momentum: Marcus Rashford , Axel Tuanzebe on two separate occasions, Anthony Martial , Reece James , Romaine Sawyers , Alex Jankewitz and Lauren James . Statements are issued. Governing bodies, broadcasters and public figures clamber over each other to offer their condemnation, often by way of a fancy social media graphic. And then, like any wave, the anger subsides. The news cycle gets bored. Racism carries on, and so does everyone else. Until the next wave, at least.

As Rashford put it last week: “Only time will tell if the situation improves. But it’s not improved over the last few years.”

Can the cycle ever be broken? Will football ever be able to move beyond strong statements and outright condemnations and the occasional glimpse of a man walking out of a magistrate’s court with a jacket over his head? Players and senior figures within the game have urged greater vigilance from social media platforms . The government has threatened tech companies with criminal sanctions and fines running into the billions. But for now, all of this remains just words. Realistically, are we ever going to get the measure of this thing?

This isn’t just about racism, as demonstrated by the death threats sent to referee Mike Dean over the weekend, or the recent treatment of the pundit Karen Carney by Leeds fans. Nor is it about single incidents, or even overt abuse. Focusing on social media platforms is to address only the thinnest sliver of the problem, given that much of the abuse currently being dished out has simply migrated online in the absence of fans from stadiums. For all the joy it inspires, the stirring stories it serves up, English football feels more thoroughly consumed by hatred than at any point in its recent history: a smell you can neither accurately place nor decisively ignore.

It’s in the increasing rancour and tetchiness of online discourse. It’s the climate in which virtually any act can be infinitely parsed and debated along pre-existing lines of difference. It’s the subtle difference between a newspaper reporting the news and a newspaper social media account baiting its followers with wild, tendentious headlines. It’s the difference between singing about Arsène Wenger getting sacked and Ed Woodward dying. And whether you like it or not, we’re all tangled up in it. Last season Haringey Borough in north London were the victims of racist abuse from Yeovil Town fans during an FA Cup qualifying game. Their goalkeeper Valery Pajetat was spat at, pelted with stones and called a “black cunt”. After the game was stopped for several minutes, manager Tom Loizou decided that there was only one course of action. “My players were getting racially abused,” he says now. “The referee had no control. So I decided to take them off. The FA Cup don’t mean that much to me. I said to the Yeovil manager: ‘Good luck in the next round.’”

As ever with these things, the initial media interest quickly disappeared. The world of football tutted, frowned and returned to its business. For Haringey, meanwhile, the healing process has taken a good deal longer. The additional security measures required for the replay left them several thousand pounds out of pocket. The emotional scars, meanwhile, have been worse. “The club’s been in decline ever since,” Loizou says. “My goalkeeper didn’t want to play any more. Coby Rowe, the best centre-half I’ve ever had at this club, had to move on. The players are still struggling. What do you say? It’s a one-off? It won’t happen again?”

This isn’t Haringey’s first brush with racism. At an FA Trophy game, Loizou claims that a player’s pregnant girlfriend was followed to the car park by an opposition fan and taunted with the words: “You black slag, you and that fucking baby inside you.” And like many within the game, Loizou senses on some level that things are getting worse. “I used to play in the local leagues around here,” he says. “There was Greeks, blacks, Turkish, and no racial abuse at all. Now, all I see is hatred all around me, all the time. The country is rife with it.”

Last season, 287 of the 2,663 football fixtures played in England and Wales – more than 10% – featured at least one incident of hate crime, according to the Home Office . Arrests for racist or indecent chanting rose by 150%, even though fans stopped attending matches in March. And yet to focus on a few headline figures is to ignore the broader trend: a slow and gradual raising of the temperature, a hardening of minds and a coarsening of conversation. What used to be considered beyond the pale is no longer, because we have lost any ability to decide collectively what the pale even is.

The sociologist Dr Jamie Cleland has been studying the discourse of football and football fans for more than a decade, and agrees that the window has shifted. “What we’re seeing,” he says, “is a ‘casualisation’ of language. Society has become a lot busier, and so social norms aren’t being challenged as they would have been historically. People are getting away with things that they wouldn’t have a generation previously.”

There are clear parallels here between the rise of online abuse towards footballers and the highly gendered hooliganism of the 1970s and 1980s, a process that Cleland describes as “capital acquisition”. “This was the notorious aspect of hooliganism: people engaged in violent behaviour because it gave them a form of social or cultural capital,” he says. “Through the generations, football has historically turned boys into men. Whereas once they proved themselves by engaging in violence, now it’s about proving their worth online as a fan. That person might not have a high level of capital in their everyday life. But this gives them a sense of worthiness. They want someone to bite. They feel alive.”

The natural rejoinder is that, now as ever, the actions of a vocal and vicious minority should not taint the standing of the majority. But this defence only really works to a point, and in any case: who or what is really being defended here? You do not have to physically tweet racist abuse or sing antisemitic songs in order to be complicit in a culture that enables these actions. “We keep talking about a minority,” says Loizou. “But they’re in amongst the majority. And if the majority are doing nothing about it, then they’re just as guilty.”

Much of the debate has focused upon pressuring social media platforms to more proactively police hate speech, even if it’s not entirely clear how this would work in practice. Blocking racist words or accounts only deals with the problem at the most basic level. Removing user anonymity would have a disastrous effect on repressed groups living under autocratic regimes (for example, LGBT people in the United Arab Emirates), and does nothing about the many users perfectly content to churn out racism under their own name.

To a large extent, the problem is one of data and intelligence. We may think we have an idea in our head of who the archetypal racist fan might be. But we still don’t know for sure, even though the technology to profile and proactively target problem users has long existed in other sectors. “We don’t have a taxonomy of offenders,” says Sanjay Bhandari, the chair of Kick it Out. “We’re aware that there are kids doing this because they’re bored. There are people who don’t know better. People who have extremist views, people who want to put off opponents, people from outside the UK who think they’re not going to be caught. For all we know, some of it might be automated bots. What we don’t know is the volume of each category.”

Naturally, big social media companies are highly resistant to the idea of giving up their precious user data, and often hide behind prepared statements rather than submit themselves to interviews or scrutiny. Often that approach strays into outright defiance: last July one police force investigating online abuse contacted Twitter to ask for details about a particular racist post. They finally received a reply in January, almost six months later.

Bhandari advocates a two-pronged strategy: pressure on the tech giants, allied with lobbying for changes in the law. “If you look at something like hacking,” he explains, “we know who’s doing it. For years, the banking industry has had a common registry of offending IP addresses for anti-money-laundering purposes. These systems exist. But you need the help of Twitter and Facebook, because they’ve got all the data. Unless you understand the problem, all we’re doing is playing whack-a-mole.”

Dr Mark Doidge is a senior research fellow at the University of Brighton who specialises in football fan culture. He reckons football fans are often an easy scapegoat for far broader social problems. “Historically, football fans have been demonised,” he says. “They’re invariably seen as violent or racist. Whereas in reality, football fans come from all walks of life. And it’s a very convenient excuse to blame things on football fans that are happening at a wider level.

“There is a particular aspect of football culture around the world which is about: we are this, you are that. It’s about superiority, masculine hierarchy. And that structures a lot of interactions between fans. However, this coarsening of debate comes from the top. The prime minister has made openly sexist, homophobic and racist comments. So you have a society that is more comfortable speaking about these things.”

Cleland describes this as “internalised disposition” – behaviours we learn by watching others. If we see politicians rise to power despite making openly racist or sexist comments, if the restraining influence of peers and social groups is devalued to the point of irrelevance, if we see the most obnoxious and attention-seeking online behaviour rewarded with likes and followers, it follows that these traits will filter into everyday currency.

And so, if these forces go as deep as humanity itself, how on earth do we begin to resist them? “I’ve seen people argue education is important,” says Cleland. “But in many ways, we’re past that stage. The problem is so deep. The fluidity is getting out of control. It’s probably impossible, but society needs to shake itself down, reassess the ways in which we deal with each other.”

For Doidge, meanwhile, the solution lies at source: with supporters themselves. “Over the last 30 years, football fans have shown that they can work together when they recognise there’s a bigger issue,” he says. “The clubs have a huge role to play, but the best way of getting fans to do something is to propose it from within the fanbase. Not Uefa, not the police, but your friends.” And when Ian Wright published screenshots of racist abuse he had received last year, Instagram users identified the culprit within minutes. On Thursday an Irish teenager called Patrick O’Brien was sentenced to probation for the attack, although to widespread dismay O’Brien escaped a criminal conviction .

And so really this is a problem that goes well beyond football. It encompasses the criminal justice system, the hegemony of Big Tech, the dereliction of our politics and the way we talk to each other. The solutions, too, must be equally wide-ranging: from the banning order and the boycott to the block button and the coordinated political campaign. On some level it feels like a hopeless crusade: like trying to hold back the world with just your two bare hands.

Yet perhaps there are still grounds for optimism. Football has so often acted as a petri dish for wider social trends: the same toxic combination of fierce tribalism and crowd anonymity that now feels so endemic to our lives as a whole. You can look at this in one of two ways. Either we complain that the task is too monstrous, the forces of chaos too irresistible, and draw the curtains. Or we conclude that if football is a microcosm of society, then by fixing the part we can start to fix the whole. Football may not be the root cause of all its problems. But perhaps it can be the root of the solution.

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Time to Take Action to End Racism in Football

Common goal, u.s. football stars, fans, clubs from mls, nwsl, and usl launch anti-racist project.

To support or join Common Goal's Anti-Racist Project, CLICK HERE

Common Goal and a diverse coalition of leaders from the U.S. football industry will unite to tackle systemic racism in both football and society with today’s launch of Common Goal’s Anti-Racist Project

Tired of the continual lack of action that follows the repeated condemnation of racism, the Anti-Racist Project was created by Common Goal together teams from across three different professional leagues; Oakland Roots SC (USL), Chicago Fire FC (MLS), Angel City FC (NWSL) as well as the  U.S National Team supporter group, the American Outlaws.

The coalition is calling on fans, players, teams, and leagues to join the collective effort against racism.

Forged by a shared determination to act, the coalition aims to fund and implement a toolkit designed by Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) experts across the U.S. football landscape that will provide anti-racist training for players, coaches, fans, club staff and executives from grassroot to elite level.

The project will train 5,000 coaches, 60,000 young people, and 115 staff in more than 400 communities in the first year. In order to accelerate and scale this impact, the members of the coalition are inviting all industry stakeholders interested in making football more equitable to join the project, first in the U.S. and then internationally.

Current USMNT player and Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen is one the first players to pledge his individual support to the project.

Photo: Images courtesy of Getty Images.

“There’s been so much talk over the last months about racism in soccer and beyond, and enough is enough,” said Steffen.

“It’s time to take action. We need to show people how to be anti-racist.

“I wanted to join this project because it is the kind of collective action necessary to make large-scale change, and I hope that this project will go worldwide and create a new culture of inclusion in as many countries as possible.”

I wanted to join this project because it is the kind of collective action necessary to make large-scale change, and I hope that this project will go worldwide and create a new culture of inclusion in as many countries as possible.

Former MLS player, and member of the Common Goal team Evan Whitfield was keen to raise awareness of the need for collection action but also the lack of racial representation at many different levels within the industry.

“Common Goal is all about unleashing the collective power of soccer to create positive action,” he said.

“The Anti-Racist Project is led by a unique and diverse group prepared to aggregate their individual and organisational power.

“There are no Black majority owners of MLS Clubs, there are zero Black coaches in the NWSL. This needs to change, and the responsibility to make that change lies with everyone — not just people of colour.

“We have a solution that can transform the system from top down and bottom up. I’m proud that my former club, Chicago Fire, is one of the pioneers of this project and I’m looking forward to more players, clubs and other soccer leaders joining us.”

Evan Whitfield playing for Chicago Fire. Photo Images courtesy of Chicago Fire FC.

Max Ornstil is a defender playing for Oakland Roots — the first U.S. club to join the Common Goal movement. Like Whitfield, he believes  should not fall on the shoulders of those who are currently being oppressed.

“The needle doesn’t move unless everyone is involved,” said Ornstil.

“It’s not enough for white people to just say they support people of colour.

“As white people we need to be willing to get uncomfortable, be vulnerable and have difficult conversations. Because change doesn’t happen without that. If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.”

Lending their voice from the side-lines is the unofficial supporters group of the US National Teams, the American Outlaws.

In-Stadium Chair Donald Wine said: “We want to be a part of the change that we seek in this country. As a Black man, I’ve been subjected to racial abuse in the stands and in life. We have to rid all its elements from the game.

“That doesn’t mean just having harsh conversations. It means actually eliminating racism from our sport and implementing real solutions that make equity and inclusion a priority in everything we do.

“As a supporters’ group, we are proud to stand with everyone calling for changing the game, and we’re ready to get started with the hard work that will be needed to eradicate racism out of soccer.”

From Chicago to Los Angeles, clubs from the country’s east to west coast representing the elite level of both men’s and women’s leagues have pledged their support.

“Angel City FC’s mission is to make an impact on and off-the-field, and our partnership with Common Goal is a natural extension of our commitment to equity in sports,” said Julie Uhrman, Co-Founder and President, Angel City FC.

“We are proud to support this important initiative and very much look forward to working with Common Goal and the other great partners involved to develop a powerful curriculum and supporting in any way we can.”

“We’re committed to Standing for Chicago and fully believe in the Club’s Pledge and want to be held accountable in the fight for racial and social justice,” said Senior Vice President of Football in the Neighbourhoods Paul Cadwell.

“The responsibilities of the Club lie beyond the field and we recognize our work within the community is ongoing. The partnership with Common Goal and the Anti-Racist Project allows a collaboration by football clubs around the globe to make an impact in the game, but even more so in our communities.”

The Anti-Racist Project is open to all stakeholders within football who would like to form part of the solution to ending racism in football and society.

To support or join the project, CLICK HERE

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Why is racism in football on the backfoot?

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What does racism in English football say about wider prejudice?

On Wednesday, July 14 at 19:30 GMT:

English football – how deep is the issue of racism?  England’s national soccer team players have faced a deluge of racist abuse and harassment online, following the team’s loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 championship. In a decisive penalty shootout, England’s Harry Kane and Harry Maguire, who are both white, scored. Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, who were subbed into the game so they could take spot kicks, were unable to score.

In a  statement released Monday , the Football Association urged the British government to take action on legislation to criminalise online harassment. The FA also urged social media companies to do more to remove and report abusive users. London’s Metropolitan Police says it will investigate the abuse.

Many are saying  racism in British football mirrors widespread bigotry and prejudice in wider society. Can football instead be part of the solution to tackle racism?

South Sudan – a failure at 10? A decade ago South Sudanese celebrated their country’s independence from Sudan with great fanfare. The world’s richest countries and the United Nations offered pledges of financial suppor t. Salva Kiir was sworn in as president, with Riek Machar as his deputy. From different ethnic groups – the Dinka and Nuer – the two leaders were united in the creation of their new country.

But within two years their differences became divisions. In 2013, a civil war erupted and eventually continued for more than 5 years. A  shaky ceasefire  holds, but half-a-million people died and millions were displaced as a result of the conflict. Today, more than eight million people are reliant on aid, and tens of thousands are still sheltering in displaced people’s sites. The  UN warns  of a “return to large-scale conflict”.

As the humanitarian and political situation worsens and intercommunal fighting continues, is a course correction for South Sudan possible?

Haiti – how will the crisis evolve?  It has been one week since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in his home sent shockwaves through the country. The killing has left a power vacuum in Haiti, with no legal roadmap for presidential succession. Haiti’s parliament is effectively dormant and two men are now laying claim to be the country’s prime minister.

The assassination of Moise took place amid rising gang violence and insecurity in Haiti, as well as a worsening economic and humanitarian crisis complicated by the impact of coronavirus. What’s next for the Caribbean nation

In this episode of The Stream, we are joined by: Cecil Jee Thomas, @Cecil_jee Presenter, ArsenalFanTV and former professional footballer

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Jean Eddy Saint Paul, @JStPaul1 Founding Director, CUNY Haitian Studies Institute

UEFA Foundation

TACKLE Racism in Grassroots Football: UEFA Foundation leads the way  

"TACKLE Racism in Grassroots Football," with the objective of combating racism, discrimination, and intolerance within the sport.

Embracing a three-year journey supported by the EU Erasmus+ programme, the UEFA Foundation for Children warmly welcomed the TACKLE conference at UEFA in Nyon. The event aimed to champion inclusivity and tackle racism in non-professional football. By specifically focusing on coaches and managers in grassroots football clubs, the project raises awareness, fosters competence, and develops strategies to eradicate racism from the beautiful game. With a comprehensive approach at its core, this inspiring initiative aspires to create a lasting impact on players, grassroots football, and the wider sporting community.  

Promoting inclusion in football is to be placed at the top of the priority list of big organisations. This is the start of the fundamental change; it means acknowledging where we are today and what we want to achieve. Actions and implementations will be much easier.  -Clarence Seedorf, board member of UEFA Foundation for Children  

It was important for the Foundation to be part of this project in collaboration with the European Commission. We all know about discrimination and the existence of abuses in football. It is great to be able to rely on scientifical research to come up with responses in promoting inclusion in our beautiful sport.  -Urs Kluser, general secretary of UEFA Foundation for Children  

The project uses a comprehensive multidimensional approach based on five axes:

1. Enhancing awareness and competences

One of the core objectives of the TACKLE initiative is to empower football coaches and managers operating in grassroots football to proactively manage and prevent racism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance. By providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills, the project aims to equip these individuals with the tools to effectively address and eradicate racist behaviours within their clubs. Through workshops, seminars, and interactive training sessions, participants can enhance their awareness and competencies in dealing with these critical issues.

2. Prevention and mitigation of racism incidents

The TACKLE project also recognises the importance of prevention and a proactive approach when it comes to anti-racism measures. To achieve this, extensive research was conducted to examine and analyse the current realities, challenges, and gaps related to the presence of racist behaviours and incidents. The findings were used to identify effective approaches and policies that could be implemented to address the issue at its core. By adopting a proactive stance, the project aims to create a safe and inclusive environment for all participants, promoting equal opportunities and fostering respect and understanding among diverse communities.

3. The TACKLE Toolkit

The TACKLE toolkit consists of best practices to tackle racism specifically within the context of youth and amateur football. It serves as a guide for coaches, managers, and stakeholders, offering practical strategies and actionable steps to address and prevent racist incidents effectively. By promoting the widespread adoption of these best practices, the TACKLE project aims to create a collective effort to combat racism, fostering a more inclusive and harmonious grassroots football community.

4. E-Learning Platform and Curriculum

Providing information and resources to tackle racism and abuse is key. Therefore, an e-learning platform is available to all and provides instant access to the project's full suite of materials and digital learning resources. Coaches, managers, and interested individuals can access the curriculum, which is specially designed to cater to the needs of grassroots football. Through interactive modules, quizzes, and multimedia content, learners can deepen their understanding of racism in football and acquire practical skills to tackle the issue effectively. The e-learning platform serves as a centralised space for information, promoting continuous learning and knowledge sharing among stakeholders.

5. Partnerships and cooperation

The TACKLE project's impact extends beyond national borders through the organisation of multiple events in participating countries. These events bring together key stakeholders, including coaches, managers, football associations, and community leaders, to raise awareness about the severe impact of racism on players, grassroots football, and sports in general. By fostering dialogue, knowledge exchange, and collaboration, the TACKLE initiative aims to create a network of like-minded individuals and organisations dedicated to eradicating racism from football.

Led by the Centre for the Advancement of Research and Development in Educational Technology (CARDET), the project consortium includes NGO KMOP, the Irish Spectrum Research Centre, the FARE network, the University of Pitesti in Romania, the Institute of Development in Cyprus, and the UEFA Foundation for Children. This collaboration ensures a multidisciplinary and holistic approach in addressing racism, discrimination, and intolerance in grassroots football.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission (Erasmus+ Project Number: 622561-EPP-1-2020-1-CY-SPO-SCP).

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Articles on racism in football

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Essay: Anti-Racism Fight in Football: Kevin-Prince Boateng’s Brave Direct Action & FIFA’s Dismissal

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Racism in any walk of life is completely vile and unnecessary. Frustratingly, even in the ‘beautiful game’, football, no effort has been made to prevent racism from happening. Slogans. Paltry fines. Captains reading out impassive pre-prepared statements over the tannoy. Further paltry fines. Meaningless T-shirts. When nothing significant changes, when words fall on deliberately deaf ears, when punishments are forgotten too easily, when the authorities do not make the effort help, eventually there will come a time for direct action. A brave and powerful message, in football’s attempt to bring the poisonous undercurrent of racism to an end, came from the football boot of Kevin-Prince Boateng who currently plays for AC Milan. Maybe you might want to take your kids along to get a close-up view of some of Milan’s players. Maybe you might think it is appropriate to aim racist insults at some of those very players. Shamefully, unbelievably, some people evidently did. And because of this, Boateng picked up the ball and kicked it in their direction and visibly upset, headed for the tunnel. Boateng removed his shirt and walked. Spontaneously, applause broke out from the majority of the crowd. Boateng having put his shirt around his neck applauded back. In that moment, there was recognition that his act of defiance was an important step in the struggle against racism. There are those who argue that this form of protest is letting the aggressors win, that the best way to counter it is to ignore it and keep playing. However it is hard to sustain that argument when it does not work. The aggressors have clearly not understood yet via any other attempts to reject such moronic behaviour. This incident has raised many questions and much public debate. Should these players have left the field of play? Why do these incidents occur? Do these incidents imply racism is an issue that refuses go away? What should be done to prevent this behaviour? These are by no means new questions; many of which have been raised in several countries over the years as part of wider movements to combat racism in society. The governing body of football, FIFA, has made no effort to reduce the amount of racist incidents occurring. For example, the Serbian FA were only fined ??64,946 because their fans racially abused England’s players, whereas Nicklas Bendtner was fined almost ??20,000 more for displaying a bookmaker’s logo during a celebration. That seems fair; advertising without permission is evidently more serious than racism…according to FIFA. Why is it that in modern society, racism is being treated as just a small issue by FIFA? Why is that every time a racist incident occurs, it is just brushed under the carpet? Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s president claimed racism was not a problem in football and that black players should remember it is ‘just a game’ and ‘shake hands’ with their abusers. Is that a joke? I find it disgusting how they could use such condescending comments, but what also concerns me is that the head of our world organisation has had to make apologies on more than just a few occasions. He almost seems untouchable. Furthermore, during the 2010-11 season, there were 43 arrests for racist chanting at football matches in England and Wales, the highest total since 2005-6. The Times newspaper (UK) reports a survey in which 41 per cent of supporters polled claim to have seen or heard racial abuse, particularly racist chanting, in the last two years. A further 27 per cent had done so in the last five years, whilst only 32 per cent believed that racism on the terraces had been ‘practically eliminated’. These statistics reveal the need to overcome complacency and ensure the battle against racism continues through a mix of educational, stewarding and policing measures. All those with a stake in the game ‘ fans, clubs, the governing bodies and police – have a responsibility to ensure that football stadiums and their immediate vicinity are free of racial attacks. Growing awareness of the problems, and measures such as better training of stewards are assisting that process. The rise in police arrests is pitiful and until arrest figures match the reality of the problem, fans and players will lack the confidence to actually report incidents and those affected will continue to stay away. In any case, whether it is in football, any other sport, or in day to day life, racism is still a serious issue. The fact that many fans are racially abusing players in modern society is worrying. The fight against racism is a long-term struggle that involves raising awareness and education that the discrimination and intimidation of another person because of the colour of their skin is unacceptable on the sports field, or anywhere else. If we don’t raise awareness, and insist to ignore every incident, the situation is just going to worsen. Without awareness and education, our children will think it’s acceptable to be openly racist at football matches, or anywhere else for that matter. Is that what you want?

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Bellingham urges greater efforts to tackle racism

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Carl Erskine, Dodgers legend and human rights icon, dies: 'The best guy I've ever known'

Carl Erskine, a fierce fighter for human rights and All-Star for the Brooklyn Dodgers who pitched one of the greatest World Series games in history, died at Anderson Community Hospital early Tuesday morning after a brief illness, his family confirmed to IndyStar. He was 97.

Erskine, an Anderson, Ind. native, died a baseball legend who played alongside field icons Jackie Robinson and Gil Hodges. He pitched in five World Series, striking out a then-record 14 in a game in 1953. Erskine, who played for the Dodgers from 1948 to 1959, would become beloved by the fans. They affectionately called him "Oisk" in their Brooklyn accents.

But, to those who knew him best, Erskine was so much more. He was a man who, off the field, fought for what was right in the world. Erskine was a fierce champion of human rights, racial equality and, when his late son Jimmy was born with Down syndrome, became immersed in fighting for people with special needs.

"He was the best guy I've ever known," said filmmaker Ted Green, who produced a documentary on Erskine, " The Best We've Got: The Carl Erskine Story ."

Former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said Tuesday "you didn’t have to be a lifelong Dodger fan to be a huge fan of Carl Erskine and the remarkable character with which he led his life."

"When asked by his documentary filmmakers to sum him up, I blurted out 'He’s the best we’ve got,'" Daniels wrote in a statement provided to IndyStar. "I can’t improve on that and, like millions, I’ll miss him very much."

Erskine was born at home in 1926, the son of a stay-at-home mom and a father who was a grocery store manager, and later a factory worker. He grew up in what he called a "mixed neighborhood" in Anderson.

As a kid, Erskine loved playing basketball and there was a court in a back alley that sat empty waiting for kids who had finished their chores after school or who had gotten up early enough to play as the sun rose. Erskine went there every chance he got.

It was the 1930s in Anderson where, 10 years before, the Ku Klux Klan had a stronghold, as it did across the state and much of the nation. Racism was rampant as Erskine came to that court in 1937, a 10-year-old white boy with nothing to prove. Just to play.

"And with every societal force pushing Carl in another direction, here on a basketball court in a back alley, he befriends a 9-year-old Johnny," said Green.

Johnny was "Jumpin" Johnny Wilson, as he later became known in Anderson, a high school basketball superstar who along with Erskine wowed crowds of more than 5,000 at the Wigwam gym.

"I equate getting an (Anderson Indians) uniform my sophomore year to getting a Dodgers uniform," Erskine told IndyStar in 2015 . "I'm telling you if you made the Indians (basketball team), you had actually accomplished almost the impossible. I mean, that's the way it seemed. Boy, if you made the Indians, man alive."

Erskine and Wilson led the team to the state semifinals in 1944. Anderson lost to Kokomo after Wilson was injured in semistate.

"We just couldn't make up that 25 or 30 points Wilson usually scored," Erskine said. "Boy did we have teamwork going for the two of us."

Erskine and Wilson, who was Black, became more than teammates. They became best friends. The two were joined at the hip. They walked to school together every day and hung out after. They played sports together and told each other their deepest secrets.

Erskine didn't realize it at the time, but Wilson would shape his views on race. And later in his life, someone would notice that. Erskine was in the Brooklyn Dodgers locker room when he heard a guy come up behind him,  Erskine told IndyStar in 2015 .

"Hey Erskine, how come you don't have a problem with this Black and white thing?" The voice belonged to Dodgers teammate Jackie Robinson.

"I said, 'Well, I grew up with Johnny Wilson,'" Erskine recalled. "'I didn't know he was Black. He was my buddy. And so I don't have a problem.'"

Birth of a pitching star

Erskine had been playing baseball his entire life in those days before television and video games. He and his dad would go in the yard and play catch. At age 9, a team asked Erskine to play in the Anderson Parks city league. He pitched on a regular-sized diamond; there wasn't Little League at the time.

When Erskine got to high school, Archie Chad, who coached football, basketball and baseball, called for Erskine to come to the office. "It scared me to death," Erskine said. "What would Mr. Chad want with me?"

Chad told Erskine he wanted him to come out for baseball. But playing the sport that first day didn't come without a little embarrassment.

"I didn't know how to put on a baseball uniform," Erskine said in 2015. "It's got those funny socks and a few things inside you don't see and I didn't know how to put it on. The little shortstop in high school was a guy named Popeye Parker. And I just, without anybody watching me hopefully, I was watching him get dressed. He'd put on a piece and I'd put on piece. He'd put on the next piece. And I'd put on the next piece. And then I got to letter four years in high school."

Erskine quickly made a name for himself as a baseball player in Indiana. Striking kids out. Pitching no-hitters. Being written about in newspapers. He wasn't very big, 5-10 and 165 pounds, but he had an arm.

Radar guns weren't around back in those days so Erskine never knew exactly how fast he was throwing in high school. Later, he would get a scouting card from the Dodgers that gave him an A+ for velocity. That A+ meant he was throwing between 92 and 93 miles per hour.

Several major league teams had their eyes on Erskine in high school, "but the Dodgers," Erskine said, "were the team that impressed me the most."

After graduating in 1945, Erskine worked out for the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. He couldn't sign because he had to serve his time in the Navy due to World War II. When the war ended the following year, Erskine signed with the Dodgers at the age of 19.

He played a winter season in Cuba and he still remembers what he made -- $325 a month.

"That helped me immensely to pitch in what was about like a Triple-A caliber league," he said in 2015. "And I was very young. So, it's kind of a truism in life. If you want to be better at something, do it with people who are better than you are. That helped me a lot."

At a preseason game in Fort Worth, Tex., in 1948, Erskine pitched four or five innings against Robinson as he was trying to make the big leagues.

"And lo and behold when the game was over, Jackie Robinson actually came over to our dugout and he said, 'Where's Erskine?'" he told IndyStar in 2105. "I didn't know Jackie and I stepped out and shook hands with him. And he said, 'Young man, I hit against you twice today. You're not going to be here very long.'"

Robinson was right. Just a dozen games later, Erskine was called up to the Dodgers. When he checked in and went to his locker, Robinson walked up to him. "Jackie said, 'I told you you couldn't miss,'" Erskine said.

First nationally televised no hitter

Robinson, Erskine and their young Dodgers team would add to an exciting era of baseball in Brooklyn. After losing seven consecutive World Series over the years, the franchise won its first title in 1955.

The Dodgers were made up of icons from that era: Robinson, Hodges, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Preacher Roe, Duke Snider and Carl Furillo.

"We had a team that in my 12 seasons in the big leagues won the National League championship six times," Erskine said in 2015. Erskine became a regular in the team's starting rotation in 1951. In addition to pitching in five World Series, he pitched two no-hitters, the first in 1952 against the Cubs. He also led the National League with 20 wins in 1953.

Erskine pitched the first nationally-televised no-hitter in 1956 against the Giants. It was the Saturday Game of the Week at a time the nation gathered around their televisions to watch. One of those watching that game was Betty, Erskine's high school sweetheart and wife. Erskine's arm had been giving him trouble and she was nervous.

Betty was back home with the kids in Bay Ridge, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, ironing in front of the TV so she could watch the game.

"She was ironing a tablecloth. So now I pitch a couple good three innings and she's kind of hesitant to quit ironing the tablecloth because she wants things to keep going good. So she keeps ironing," Erskine said in 2015. "So now about the fifth inning, she finally turns it over and she keeps ironing. So she ironed the same tablecloth for nine innings. She watched every pitch and she never scorched a spot. And I never allowed a hit. That's teamwork."

The Brooklyn era of the Dodgers came to an end in 1958, shocking and saddening a city, when the team announced it would be moving to Los Angeles. Erskine pitched the home opener in in L.A. Dodgers Stadium wasn't built yet, so the team played in a football stadium and 80,000 people were in the stands.

"It was a big historic moment for L.A. to have major league baseball," he said. "I did get the win that day against the Giants. And that sort of ties me to L.A. after playing most of my career in Brooklyn. When I go back to L.A., it seems as though the fans accept me as if I played my whole career there. It's pretty neat."

Erskine retired from baseball in 1959 and returned to Indiana where he and Betty would raise their three children, Danny, Gary and Susan. One year later, Jimmy was born.

'The crowd would go silent"

Jimmy Erskine was born in 1960 with Down syndrome. It was a time when many doctors told parents that babies with Down syndrome should be sent to an institution, that they would be a societal hindrance, that they would disrupt family life.

Erskine and his wife, Betty, ignored what doctors said and they took Jimmy home. They were not going to do what other families had done before. They raised Jimmy just as they did their other three children.

"They let him fly. They took Jimmy out with them wherever they went, to church, to restaurants," said Green. "It was always Jimmy was there and if he acted up, he acted up." Just like every other kid acts up.

Green says the Erskines blazed a trail for other families with children who had special needs. They showed quietly though their actions how to raise a child with intellectual disabilities.

But Erskine didn't just make life better for Jimmy. He took to another fight, a fight to make lives better for all people with special needs. He was a fierce advocate for educational opportunities and for Special Olympics.

"Carl Erskine has helped to affect such massive change through humility, through grace, through human leadership," said Green. "He has spent his lifetime propping up others."

At the time Jimmy was born, average life expectancy for babies with Down syndrome was 10 years. Jimmy Erskine would outlive his Down syndrome prognosis by decades and, along the way, became the face of Special Olympics. He died in 2023 at the age of 63.

Whenever Erskine was asked to give a speech as a World Series champ, he would stand at the podium and hold up his World Series ring and tell the audience how much it meant to him. But then, he would always pull from his pocket one of Jimmy's gold medals from the Special Olympics.

"You tell me which is the greater achievement," Erskine would say to the audience. "Which of these means more?"

"The crowd would go silent," Green said. "Then they would clap, and then the tears would fall."

Funeral arrangements for Erskine are pending.

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X:  @DanaBenbow . Reach her via email: [email protected].

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Upenn alumni demand eight professors be punished for antisemitic ‘hate speech’.

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Hundreds of University of Pennsylvania alumni sent a letter to the Ivy League school’s interim president, Larry Jameson, Tuesday demanding eight professors be punished for spewing antisemitic “hate speech.”

The collective demanded each of the eight instructors – labeled in the 22-page memo as “the Professors” — be individually investigated for allegedly engaging with anti-Israel sentiment in the months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.

Nearly all the professors allegedly left a digital paper trail for either support for Hamas-adjacent rhetoric or commendation of Israel amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, the signatories claimed.

Some of the professors also participated in physical rallies at the school, the alumni alleged.

Political science professor Anne Norton, for example, shared a string of controversial posts and retweets– including endorsing a post claiming Jewish people are best at “playing the victim.”

The widely-publicized debacle cost Norton her funding from big-name financial investor, Henry Jackson and his wife, Stacey, who had been sponsoring her through their President’s Distinguished Professorship since 2018.

When reached by The Post last month, Norton requested to see the alumni letter before commenting. She did not immediately respond to an attempt to follow up with a final draft of the missive on Tuesday.

Huda Fakhreddine, an Associate Professor of Arabic Literature, was also slammed for claiming on X “Israel is antisemitic, anti-human, anti-children, anti-life!” as well as comparing Gaza to a Nazi concentration camp.

English Professor Ania Loomba was dinged for participating in pro-Palestine rallies on campus, while Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Mohammed Alghamdi was caught tearing down hostage posters.

Like Norton, Loomba – who is on leave for the Spring 2023 semester – requested to see the letter, but did not immediately return The Post’s follow-up on Tuesday.

Dwayne Booth, a lecturer at the Annenberg School of Communication, created and shared a series of comics protesting the counterattack in Gaza which were regarded by many as antisemitic.

One drawing depicted Israeli and American leaders drinking the blood of Gazans while looking at a dove carrying an olive branch in its mouth — a symbol of peace — asking “Who invited the antisemite?”

Outrage over Booth’s cartoons inspired interim president Jameson to  issue a statement  in February calling the cartoons “reprehensible,” but standing by the educator’s academic freedom.

“As a political cartoonist and having produced a great deal of scholarship on the function and history of satire and commentative art for 30+ years, I can say with every certainty that criticizing the State of Israel for its assault on Palestinians in Gaza in the work that I do outside the classroom is not ‘hate speech,’ though it may be upsetting to those who disagree with me,” Booth told The Post when asked about the alumni letter.

“Additionally, having taught somewhere around 1,000 students over the last ten years…there has never been a single accusation made by any student, teaching assistant, or colleague with whom I’ve interacted to support such a baseless and inflammatory claim,” Booth added.

After viewing the alumni letter himself, Booth said the comments that alums took issue with were praised by “many thousands of readers… a great number of those readers being Jewish.”

Professor Fatemeh Shams – who was accused in the letter of saying “Israelites” deserved the Oct.7 terror attack, among other supposed violations – also dismissed the allegations as “unequivocally baseless and false” and said they constitute “nothing short of slander and libel.”

“Targeting professors for exercising their fundamental right to academic freedom through such letters and lawsuits exemplifies hate speech, racism, sexism, and Islamophobia,” Shams wrote.

“I wish our institution’s alumni redirected their resources and efforts toward safeguarding academic freedom, rather than perpetuating a culture of hate, censorship, and unwarranted scrutiny on educators committed to fostering independent and critical thought,” she added.

The alumni, however, clearly felt differently.

“Free speech is paramount, but there is a thin line separating it from hate speech,” the graduate signees insisted.

The former students addressed the letter to Dr. Jameson, who stepped in as interim president when Liz Magill resigned in December – days after she told a congressional panel calling for the genocide of Jewish students may not be hate speech and is “context-dependent.”

“True leadership, from the top all the way down, means being able to discern between the two and uphold the difference no matter the consequences. We have yet to see that at Penn,” the letter sent Tuesday stated.

The alumni alleged administrators have allowed faculty to violate the University’s Faculty Handbook as well as professional standards by fuel antisemitic rhetoric — all while defending alleged hate speech under the “free speech” umbrella.

The alumni requested “The Professors” be slapped with seven distinct punishments, including mandatory recording of their classes, their offices moved outside UPenn’s buildings and that they not be permitted any advising roles.

All the suggested punishments fall in line with what is listed within the faculty handbook, the alumni argued.

Last year, a disciplinary committee hit UPenn Carey Law Professor Amy Wax with a one-year suspension at half pay, the removal of her named chair and other punishments for years of alleged anti-black prejudice.

The censure Wax incurred for her statements – which included claiming she had never seen a black student graduate in the top quarter of the class – set a “clear precedent” for other professors to be similarly reprimanded, the alumni argued.

Wax requested a copy of the alumni letter before commenting last month.

She did not immediately return The Post’s follow-up request on Tuesday.

The University of Pennsylvania also did not immediately return a request for comment regarding the letter.

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