Racism in sports: historical context and modern challenges

Racism in sports has been an issue throughout the world, we have now been fighting it for a while, though it still exists. In 2007 the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) released a report claiming that racial abuse and vilification is commonplace in international sports, in places such as Australia, Europe and America. Though racism in sports has been far worse over the course of history. As sports progressed, race relations progressed along with it.

America has got a lot of history regarding racism. In baseball for instance, African-Americans were barred from participation in the National Association of Baseball Players because of regional prejudice and unofficial colour bans dating back to the 1890s. Because of this segregation, blacks and, to a lesser extend Latin-Americans worked together to create the Negro Leagues. These leagues comprised mostly all African-American teams. The Negro Leagues became one of the largest and most successful enterprises run mostly by African-Americans. Their founding and resilient growth stood as a testament to the determination and drive of African-Americans to battle the imposing racial segregation and social disadvantage. The Negro American League of 1951 is considered the last major league season. Most of the Latin- and African-American players were now playing ‘organized baseball’ in Major League Baseball teams.