(Photo by Lorie Shaull)
Liverpool players took a knee around the centre circle at Anfield in a message of support following the death in police custody of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Achraf Hakimi and Jadon Sancho both revealed ‘Justice For George Floyd’ shirts in Dortmund’s 6-1 win over Paderborn.
Borussia Moenchengladbach forward Marcus Thuram made an apparent show of solidarity with protests at the death of George Floyd as he took a knee after scoring in the Bundesliga clash against Union Berlin.
Formula One ace Lewis Hamilton, basketball legend Michael Jordan, British 200m world champion sprinter Dina Asher-Smith and tennis superstar Serena Williams are some of the many sports personalities who have taken to the social media to highlight their concern on the scourge of racism in the USA.
You don’t need to be a major sports personality to make your statement on social issues. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was virtually unknown outside the Americas. But his decision to take a knee in protest of police brutality and racial inequality not only made him an icon of social reform but also helped highlight the issue worldwide.
But, sadly many top sports personalities around the world have chosen to remain silent to protect their brand. Imagine the impact some of these icons would have in furthering the cause to eradicate racism not only in the USA but all around the world.
When singer Taylor Swift called out white supremacy in her scathing tweet against racism, it reached her 86-million odd followers and was retweeted over 390,000 times within 24-hours. Sports personalities wield similar influence over their fans that can help the narrative for reforms in social injustices.
While the USA may be about 15,000 km from Malaysia, what happens there must surely resonate to a certain extent not only in Malaysia but also other countries.
But, there has been hardly any murmur of support for anti-racism coming from any Malaysian athlete or official. In fact , the Malaysian sports fraternity hardly ever lend their voice to most social issues, even if it is right in our own backyard.
Why is it so?
Royal Commonwealth Society’s Asia Youth Regional Coordinator Dhanesh Basil said that it has to do with the limitations on freedom of speech in Malaysia.
“Youth in general are limited and restrained from giving out remarks on social issues without going through ‘proper channels’. This is what has been ingrained in the mindset of youth for the last 50-60 years. And to make matters worse they are also in a dilemma on how to question something when the authorities themselves are making the mistakes,” said Dhanesh.
He added that it also has a lot to do with the lack of knowledge of issues and ignorance.
“We Malaysians have the culture of forgetting issues very quickly and it is no different with those in sports. No one wants to make it an issue if it does not affect them or their immediate family,” said Dhanesh.
Even when allegations of rape of a Malaysian athlete by a coach surfaced, there was hardly a buzz among other Malaysian athletes. When deserving players in some sports were dropped for the flimsiest of excuses, no outrage or solidarity within the fraternity arose.
The general comments from athletes interviewed in regards to this situation were: We do not want to get into any trouble. No need to quote me. Better to keep my mouth shut. Nothing do with us. I just concentrate on my own performance.
If these reflect the lack of empathy among the Malaysian sporting fraternity, it is a serious problem.
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sports Director Mustaza Ahmad agreed that athletes in Malaysia do not want to get involved in issues that do not concern their own sporting career.
“Sport is always seen as a tool for unity and this is what they have been instilled with. So they prefer to concentrate on their own performances instead of getting involved in any perceived controversies,” said Mustaza.
He added that there were also the sports association guidelines that bars athletes from making statements that could be seen as bringing the sports association into disrepute.
He cited how footballers in Malaysia channeled their concerns on Covid-19 and the restart of the national league through the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) instead of making personal statements.
Mustaza believed that there was a need to conduct a proper research on the issue to see how to better empower athletes.
In each of the previous occasion, Malaysian athletes had only voiced their dissatisfaction only when their own position was threatened.
Former Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) secretary Dato Sieh Kok Chi said the problem was not confined to Malaysia but to most Asia countries.
“In fact none of the athletes from the Asian countries would stand up for social rights. The Asian philosophy is to always mind your own business and not to interfere into the affairs of others,” said Kok Chi.
He added that Asians are thought from young to look after themselves and the family first. How can we accept athletes to support social issues when most of the time they are also quiet on issues affecting other athletes,” said Kok Chi.
Malaysia is not without its share of human rights issues, that still does not get the priority it deserves in national policies.
From freedom of speech to freedom to assemble, from arbitrary detention to protection of rights, Malaysia has its fair share of issues that affect the common man. (Read more on the Malaysia 2019 Human Rights Report here.)
Whether it was the death of Teoh Beng Hock or the disappearances of pastor Raymond Koh and social activist Amri Che Mat, such issues do not gain any traction among the sports fraternity.
“Frankly Malaysia has more than its fair share of police brutality as shown by the high number of deaths in police custody. There are statistics to show the number is high. Yet very little protests even from politicians and NGOs. So how can we expect the athletes to open their mouths,” said one official, who did not want to be named..
Has there been injustice in sporting events itself?
In 2015, the Badminton Association of Malaysia decided to wield their power to drop Chong Wei Feng from the World Championships in Jakarta.
Wei Feng was the highest ranked Malaysia at number 31 and had qualified on merit ahead of 41st ranked Zulfadli Zulkifli and 45th ranked Dato Lee Chong Wei. The BAM decided to name Chong Wei, who had just served out an eight month doping sentence and sacrificed Wei Feng, all in the name of chasing the gold.
Unfair? Yes, but none of his peers in badminton or other sports came out to support Wei Feng being made the sacrificial lamb.
Chong Wei, did go on to win the silver at the world championships, but that does not take way the fact that the decision to select him denied another player who had qualified on his own merit.
Back in the 1990s V. Selvam was undeniably the best tennis singles player in the country. He was the banned by the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM) for allegedly taking part in an illegal tournament.
To show how biased the decision was, he was the only player or official, who had taken part in the tournament, to be suspended. Again none of his peers were ready to voice their concern or displeasure for fear of being banned themselves.
There have been numerous cases in other sports as well where deserving players were dropped because they were deemed as troublemakers for voicing out their displeasure.
To expect Malaysian athletes to stand up and be counted on social reforms in the current scenario seems to be a distant dream.
About Post Author
