After some England supporters booed the anti-racism action this is an important moment for white peopleIt was at the League One play-off final on Sunday when I experienced it for myself. We were getting ready for the game, going through the now familiar pre-match ritual of players taking the knee, when there was a roar across Wembley. A section of the crowd, not nearly half but much more than an isolated pocket, were booing as hard as they could. After seconds of shock I started to clap, as did a number of other people. It was the only thing I could think to do to drown out the noise, but it was too late.The booing had happened before, at the...
The Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted problems faced by players who have felt alienated by teammatesBack in July the South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi answered a question about the Black Lives Matter movement: “It’s something we will be addressing as a team,” he said, “and if we are not, it’s something I will bring up.” It was a tiny spark, but it started a fire that has burned through the South African winter, as more and more black players have started to open up about their unhappy experiences playing for the national team. In the end, Cricket South Africa launched a Social Justice and Nation Building project, to investigate whether it ought to pay reparations to players who...
The Rugby Against Racism campaign was belatedly born this week, 25 years after the game turned professional and thanks in the main to the raised awareness brought by the Black Lives Matter movementBlack lives matter. Those three words – a statement distilled to its purest form – are the best explanation I can give as to why I will take a knee when rugby restarts on Friday night. I am totally aware that the statement has been politicised and I strongly disagree with some of the things the organisation stands for, but there is one reason why pretty much every household has developed a greater understanding and awareness of anti-racism recently: the Black Lives Matter movement.I also want to clear...
Viewers watching England’s first Test of the summer were given an uncompromising alternative to cakes and sixesWest Indies were flying a Black Lives Matter flag from their balcony. It was one of the first things you saw as the cameras panned across the empty ground on the opening morning of the opening match of this strange and delayed cricket season.Later, when they came out on to the ground, you could see their players were wearing one black glove each. Both teams took the knee before the start of play and as they did it West Indies raised their gloved fists in salute, a clear, conscious echo of the protests made by the sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith as they...