Racism in sports: LeBron James, Linford Christie and Floyd Mayweather claim to be targets
There have been a lot of studies regarding racism in sports nowadays. There are all kinds of racisms at play in the numerous games that athletes take part in. African Americans claim they are the victims of racism and in some sports, while white people also
claim to be the targets. Big stars in the world of sports claim to be the victims of some malicious attacks; stars such as basketball great, LeBron James and former sprinter, Linford Christie. It seems the world as a whole is still heavily caught up in race
issues, and it might be high time that sportsmen forget their differences and learn to live and play together.
LeBron James, the superstar basketball player has recently joined Miami Heat after playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers for most of his illustrious career. His decision to join Miami after becoming a free agent was heavily criticised by many people, who
said it showed the talented basketball player’s arrogance. He has recently stated in an interview that he felt he was getting a lot of criticism from people because of race. He failed to elaborate his point but as expected his comments were not well received
in the sport.
Another prominent black athlete, the former Olympic champion sprinter, Linford Christie has also recently been pushing the race card very heavily. The British sprinter, who won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in the 100 metres, has taken the issue one
step further than LeBron did. Christie has claimed that there is deep-rooted institutionalised racism in England today. He justifies his claim by pointing out that there are significantly fewer numbers of black athletes who have been knighted for their services
to the country than the white ones. This is very interesting coming from a man who was banned for life from athletic competition for taking illegal drugs during his days of competing. If he is looking for a knighthood, he may be waiting a very long time because
his chequered past has not been forgotten.
Another strange case is the one of Michael Vick, one of the most despised American football players in America. Here is an athlete who was accused of setting up an illegal dog fighting ring and forcing dogs to fight each other to death. Even though he did
not play the race card, his supporters claimed the quarterback was being targeted because of his race. It is very interesting how people will pull out the race card and say that a person is a victim of racism, when the person did something very wrong or dodgy.
The final example comes from the world of boxing. The sport, which has a huge number of black athletes, has been dogged by racist claims for many years. One of the strangest claims comes from one of the biggest stars of the sport, Floyd Mayweather. The controversial
boxer is known for making very racist remarks and running his mouth at every opportunity he gets. He was heard in a video racially abusing the great Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, so it is a bit ridiculous to hear claims of racism coming from him. He once
told reporters that if he was white he would be the biggest athlete in America. He might be the biggest athlete in America, if he forgot about race and concentrated on his sport more.
An interesting aspect of this whole scenario is that two of the top female athletes in America at the moment are very talented black athletes. The Williams sisters are the biggest attraction in tennis and the top stars of the sport. They do not seem to let
race affect them, and they have fans of every race and skin colour.
Recent studies show that sports in America at the moment are dominated by black athletes. Today 80% of the players in the NBA are black, and it is not only America where we see this take place. The French national football team has two-third black players.
It is interesting in all this to see that athletes are still so hung up with race. It would make more sense if white players in the NBA and French football team about racism.
It is high time that sports stars forget about race and get on with the games they play so well.
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