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Monday, July 12, 2021

Sports and politics

England lost the European championship to Italy on Sunday, losing 3-2 in a penalty shootout. England's three misses were by Black players. English fans did not take the loss well; fans vandalized a mural dedicated to one player (for his philanthropic work) and took to social media to criticize the three players in the way you would expect to happen on social media.

Calling sports apolitical is nonsense, given the trappings of patriotism and politics, especially (as here) in an international competition when one plays for one's country. But without those trappings, this highlights the unavoidable politics. A loss is expressed in political terms--racist language and ideas about them as people (not merely as footballers) or denying that they are true Englishmen. If the players know how they will be criticized for poor performance, they cannot be blamed for making their own political statements, whether in anticipation or response.

Posted by Howard Wasserman on July 12, 2021 at 09:22 AM in Howard Wasserman, Sports | Permalink

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