In sports, discrimination is a wide topic. Gender discrimination, racism, height discrimination, religious discrimination and many more. Athletes are constantly put down due to multiple factors.
Nearly 40% of women face discrimination in the sports industry based on their gender. Many believed that since women couldn’t surpass men’s achievements, they shouldn’t take part at all. Taking a recent example in women's soccer. All 28 women filed a lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation, to fight for equal pay. Even though the women’s team has won more games than the men’s team, they are still not recognized to be as great as them. This is 2021 and gender discrimination hasn’t ended. Many incredible people have tried to speak up against sexism. Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to complete a marathon, even though it was banned. Billie Jean King, an American tennis player, fought for women’s rights and LGBT+ rights every time she stepped onto the court. Serena Williams promised to always fight for gender and racial equality.
Racism is a problem throughout the world, particularly for African Americans. Unfortunately, this is the same in sports. In baseball, during the early 1900s, African Americans were banned from playing in the National Association of Baseball Players. Instead, they had to create their own leagues which quickly became extremely successful. Jackie Robinson became the first African American to ever play professional baseball. Racism doesn’t just end at African Americans. Muslims have also faced discrimination throughout their sports career. Australian cricketer, Dean Jones, called South African cricketer, Hashim Amla, a terrorist simply because of his religion. In 2015, an Indian cricketer, Harbhajan Singh called the English cricketer, Moeen Ali “Osama”. It is so saddening to think that this type of racism has come up so recently. Athletes like Jackie Robinson, Jack Johnson, Muhammed Ali, Dani Alves and multiple basketball teams have all spoken up about discrimination in their respective fields.
“Sports can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination”. Nelson Mandela passionately expresses that sports are meant to bring equality to the world. This is a future we can reach if we keep fighting and never give up.
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