Go [Away] Bananas: Racism in Sports.

[Photo courtesy of the BBC]

I was disappointed but not surprised, when I learned that supporters of a Russian soccer team once again received negative attention globally. This time, the soccer club, Lokomotiv Moscow is at the fore-front of racism in sports for their inappropriate banner. The banner read, "Thanks West Brom," with a picture of a banana in between the sarcastic thanks and the club of the newly-signed, Nigerian International Peter Odemwingie, West Bromwich Albion[or West Brom].

But the surprising thing is the club went unpunished for their supporters’ actions. If, the supporters embody the clubs passion then nothing less than a large sum of money should be required of the club to pay. This may not change the feelings of Odemwingie toward the racism, [he has come out to say that this is not the only time he faced racism while he played in Russia] he may have endured during his time in the European country but it goes to show the Russian Football Association will not tolerate actions like this, especially since they are bidding on the 2018 World Cup, which is the center of piece of the sport.

What also is mind-boggling was when questioned about the event, Russian officials claimed it to not be "racist". "C'mon Son" as radio host Ed Lover would say. Anything depicting a banana and a person of colored skin is racist. How Russian officials could be blind to the fact that bananas and colored people have had a long, unfriendly history baffles me. Athletes have had bananas thrown at them and monkey noises made toward them for years in Europe and other continents. So, for Russian officials to shrug off the correlation between bananas and colored people is just unacceptable.

The Russian officials’ explanation for a banana being involved in the banner is that apparently for years in Russian sports according to them, that if a player is nothing playing up to par with the supporters expectations they are seen as a banana because of their less than satisfactory performances.

But why use a banana toward a black athlete? There are plenty of fruits and vegetables you can use to sure your displeasure with an athlete’s performance. Why not an onion? Or a tomato?

Clearly, Lokomotiv has to do a better job of educating their supporters and the sports world has to do a better job of handling race relations in general because Russia is not the only place this happens.


Until then, be blessed!
Unfamous Celebrity
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