Black people internalizing White supremacy in our relationship with sports has been an ongoing issue. This shows up as perfectionism, capitalism, and keeping White people comfortable. While sports are often presented to save us from our neighborhoods and help financially, they frequently end up traumatizing us as well as our youth. Now don’t get me wrong; there is some good in sports, but at times it has been filled with dangled diversity, racism, trauma and stereotypes. This issue is not limited to professional sports; it’s evident from high school to college as well. There is outright racism in some high school sports and indirect micro and macro aggressions in college. At times, it’s not even indirect. With high school sports locally, there have been various issues with the WPIAL.
I grew up and went to high school in McKeesport, so you can imagine the type of stuff they used to yell at us during games. From the n-word (racist slurs) to constantly bringing up the violence they see on the news about our community. Truthfully, racial slurs are expected when Black teams play White teams here in Allegheny County. Not to mention their lack of holding them accountable. In 2022, after parents and the school from Steel Valley pushed them to investigate instances of racism, their solution was to have both teams do diversity training! Yes, make that make sense. Moreover, the PIAA’s decision to move the Aliquippa School District to a different class based on their competitive balance rule. However, we all know that the thing they didn’t say out loud was that the team was Black and “good.” In my opinion, this reflects systemic racism. Just when we get good at something, they raise the bar or change the rules. There are several more stories like this filled with racial slurs and systematic rule changes that attempt to stop us from being “good.”
This continues into professional sports as well. The most modern example would be Colin Kaepernick. In 2016, he knelt during the national anthem. The NFL responded by starting a policy that stated all athletes were required to stand for the anthem. He refused and was pushed out of the league. The NFL’s solution was to bring in Jay-Z and offer up performative solutions like having Black artists perform at halftime shows. This move stopped the collective resistance of Black people. But we got some concerts out of it, right?
This is not surprising considering most of the leagues started with racism. In 1933, some NFL coaches were accused of barring Black players from the league. Similar things occurred in the NBA and MLB. Since then, it has grown into systemic racism, constant racial slurs from fans, announcers, and pressure for Black athletes to be “perfect.”
Additionally, as a wrestling fan, I must say that they, and companies such as the WWE, can’t be left out of this. The recent passing of Hulk Hogan and the support of 47 by some wrestlers shouldn’t go unnoticed. While Hulk Hogan was a good, entertaining wrestler, he was also revealed to be racist, having been caught on video using racial slurs. Black wrestlers have also recounted stories of him saying even worse things and being called the n-word as well.
Over the years, sports have maintained the status quo and failed to take action to combat racism, and no amount of nostalgia should allow us to overlook this. Black people, and I say this with love…we need to engage in serious conversations and rethink our relationship with sports.
About Post Author
