Ethnic Minorities What is racism Racism is the

Ethnic Minorities

What is racism? Racism is the suggestion that one particular ethnic group is more superior than another on the basis of skin colour or religion. A different form of racism is racial stereotyping. This is whereby individuals are categorised into what they are/are not good at according to religion or skin colour. ○ E. g. The notion that all black people are good at sprinting.

Racial Discrimination - is it a Factor in modern Sport? National teams in Athletics, Soccer have a high proportion of black Afro-Caribbean participants. Other sports like Rugby Union and League and Cricket have fewer but significant numbers. But these same sports have far fewer persons of Asian backgrounds, particularly women. Hockey, Swimming, Equestrianism, Rowing have relatively few black participants. This pattern probably reflects the class discrimination - lack of opportunity because of the expense of the sport, or its traditional class base.

Racial Discrimination - is it a Factor in modern Sport? However, many parts of our modern society are afflicted with institutional racism. This is not necessarily a conscious discrimination against non-white people, but more a feeling by white people that certain situations and activities are based around white people. It is therefore a tradition that white people undertake these activities and exclude non-whites. Certain people also treat black people very stereotypically - this is also institutional racism.

What has happened in sport as a result of racism and racial stereotyping? ‘Stacking’ Whereby ethnic groups are pushed into certain positions or sports due to opinions regarding physical strength/skills. E. g. Black men and sprinting. There are very few ethnic minority coaches or managers. Reduced participation – this is particularly the case with Female ethnic minority groups.

Why have these issues arisen? There are several reasons which answer this question. Perhaps the most apparent reason is the lack of role models for ethnic minorities in specific sports. For example, is the abundance of black track athletes a result of the large number of role models in this sport? Equally, there is a severe lack of Asian athletes within Premiership football.

How do role models have an impact on participation? Individuals tend to copy the behaviour of people in the media spotlight. Equally, youngster aspire to be like their idols. Hence, young Asian boys may wish to emulate Naseem Hamed (boxing) and young black girls may wish to grow up like Kelly Holmes (athletics) or one of the Williams sisters (tennis).

Black Representation There is only one black referee, Uriah Rennie, in the Premier League. There is understood to be only one other black referee still on the referee's register in the Football League out of a total of 73 referees More than 30% of all professional footballers are black and five members of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) Premier League team of the year last season were black Sheffield United's Jason Rockett is the only black chief executive, and Millwall's Heather Rabbatts is the only black executive chairperson in the professional game. In the dugout Paul Ince (Notts County) and Chris Houghton (Newcastle) are the only black managers in 92 league clubs. Elsewhere Lord Ouseley is the first and only black member of the FA Council

Asian Representation There are only seven British Asian players in professional football and a Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) survey into professional football in 2004 revealed that in total there were only 10 Asian players at Premier League club academies. Only 2 Asian Football League referee’s. Chelsea’s Search for an Asian Star project will offer young footballers of Asian descent the opportunity to earn a place in the club’s academy system.

Are ethnic minorities actually excluded from any sports? By law, it is illegal to prevent any individual from joining any club, society or team on the basis of skin colour or religion. However, it is perhaps fair to say that very often ethnic minority groups fit into the lower economic status. A low disposable income usually prevents individuals from participating in certain sports.

Has racial stereotyping affected the experiences of ethnic minorities in school sport? In the past, some schools have been accused of perpetuating racial stereotypes by encouraging young black students to develop their sporting talents – sometimes to the detriment of their academic studies. This resulted in a ‘vicious circle’ scenario for black athletes, as should these young black athletes fail in a sporting career, they had little education to fail back on. However, in more recent years schools are under obligation to provide equal opportunities to all students in both academic and sporting areas.

To what extent has stereotyping affected participation levels in sport? There is a myth that black people are superior athletes over white people. This myth is further reinforced by the fact that whilst the black population in Britain is around 6%, over half of the British athletics team is black. These figures are reproduced within both football and cricket teams. Equally, many athletic track records are held by athletes of West or East African descent. In the States, this trend continues into American football and basketball.

Why are black athletes so massively represented in athletics? Some individuals argue that black individuals have a different genetic make-up to white athletes, making them faster and stronger. i. e. they have more fast twitch fibres, meaning they can run faster. However, scientific research has found no conclusive evidence to support this. Equally, other speed events such as swimming are largely populated by white individuals. Thus, it is more likely to be the presence of role models which motivates black youngsters to become track athletes.

Are there any other reasons why there are so many black athletes? It has been suggested that sports may be a way of escaping poverty for many black athletes. This is probably especially true in America where the majority of sports are professional and offer huge cash sums should individuals reach the big leagues. Perhaps boxing and football are two prominent sports in this category in the UK.

Are the participation figures true for both sexes? There tends to be less women participating in sport – regardless of race or religion. BUT, these figures become far more drastic when talking about Muslim women. This is perhaps mostly due to clothing restrictions and lack of role models. This topic is more widely discussed in the ‘Women in Sport’ section.

Kick Racism out of Football Recent events in football games have ensured this schemes success. The edition of the black & white wrist bands has also highlighted this particular issue. PESSCL Strategy Living for Sport Initiative Nike Girls Into Sport Project Whilst these initiatives are not directly aimed at ethnic minorities, they are aimed at improving sport access for disaffected groups. Sporting Equals ‘Working Together for Racial Equality in Sport’ This is an organisation which aims to help integrate ethnic minorities into sport.

Is there anything else aimed at improving ethnic minority participation in sports? Media coverage of ethnic minority sports is improving Equally, companies are using athletes of ethnic origin to promote products and sports. More ethnic minority individuals are also being appointed into managerial/sport development jobs.

Stereotyping, centrality and self-fulfilling prophecies Individual groups tend to meet ‘walls’ to their participation, due to the views and opinions of other members of society. Categories which fall into this type of discrimination tend to include: ○ Women ○ Socio-economic groups ○ Ethnic minorities

Success in sport for specific groups There is an historical belief that Afro-Caribbean individuals are good at sport and are not academically inclined. Thus, this particular group tends to succeed in sport more than any where else. This is called a self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, many people within this particular group have taken an historical belief to heart and thus focused more strongly on sport than anything else.

Reasons & effects of Afro-Caribbeans becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy in sport Not expected to succeed academically Many role models to aspire to Directed into certain sports by teachers/coaches Few Afro-Caribbeans in managerial/admin roles Selected by coaches/ managers for certain positions (known as STACKING)

Have the Americans managed to eradicate black athlete stereotyping? There is still massive stacking in certain sports (athletics, basketball). Equally, whilst black athletes dominate a large variety of positions on the American Football field, very few achieve quarterback positions. This is known as centrality, whereby dominant, white males control central and/or decisionmaking positions within sports.

Homework Kick it out is an organisation working for equality in football: www. kickitout. org What are their main aims and objectives? What are they doing for people in: schools? The community Asians are particularly under-represented in football – name ways they are trying to improve this situation. What is ‘The Equality Standard’? Many professional players support this organisation: what are they doing to promote equality? Are they doing enough? What else could they do?