sports

Australia's long battle with racism in sport

25 Comments
By Martin PARRY

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There once was a 'White Australia' policy in immigration. Thankfully that's been abolished.

5 ( +13 / -8 )

Well it is not just drunk bogans at SCG who indulge in such behaviour. Even the crowds at stadiums in India can be a bit volatile at times. Still remember Andrew Symonds faced racial abuse in India, and Eden Gardens is well known for crowd trouble in general (though not specifically racist in nature).

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/18/cricket.india

Having said that, Australia does have some introspection to make in this aspect.

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/115657/mohammed-siraj-the-hero-we-need-to-be-india-cricket-team-say-no-to-racism-scg-sydney

1 ( +5 / -4 )

To be fair, and I'm commenting on this case only, it seems not to be quite as clear cut as it may seem. There are apparently eyewitness accounts that the individuals were not yelling racist abuse- perhaps borne out by the fact that it took an inordinate amount of time to identify the offenders. When police were asking the surrounding patrons, no one could identify who they were after and what the problem was.

Another factor that may need to be considered in this case is that it was a pivotal moment in the game as the Australian player was on a tear and scoring freely with a number of delaying tactics being used by India, knowing that a declaration would come during the tea break and keen to minimise the runs they would need to chase in their second innings. It should be noted also that the crowd has been reduced to 25% attendance due to covid, and any racist language would be immediately obvious, and when cowards yell racist abuse, they usually do it from the sanctuary of a large crowd.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

Idiots will be idiots.

I have always learned that sport is sport because there are fair play rules. If not, it's more like circus or war.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

Don't leave the NRL out of the article please. Olsen Filipaina the first Pacific Island star got called all kinds of stuff, by his team mates and coaches!

He would go home from trainings crying but his mum wouldn't let him quit.

He laid the table for a league that is over 40% Polynesian now. As late as last year NRL commentators were hamming up Polynesian players names on live broadcasts.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Ah, the problems of English as a (near) universal language.

If the racist abuse was shouted in Hindi, the Aussie players would have no idea of what was being said.

Of course, I am in no way saying the a fired up Indian crowd at their home pitch would do such a thing.

That raises the question, If you don't understand the abuse, are you being abused?

Maybe earplugs as well as masks should be mandatory to protect the sensitivities of the players.

5 ( +11 / -6 )

Most nations suffer with their share of idiots. I remember a test series in India where crowds were calling some Australian players "monkeys" and it made news everywhere. It happened at more than one venue in India and was an embarrassment for India at that time. Now it is Sydney crowds yelling racist slurs at Indian players and it is Australia that is now embarrassed. It is hard to know who will drink too much alcohol at a game and turn from normal cricket fan to racist pratt with a couple of cans of beer.

It happens at Soccer, football, cricket but thankfully it is always a very small minority doing it at any given time.

Hard to stamp out and it takes enjoyment of the game away from surrounding fans.

I think when you have 30,000 fans or more and allow alcohol your likely to get a few drunken fools, no matter what country your in.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

"If the racist abuse was shouted in Hindi, the Aussie players would have no idea of what was being said.

Of course, I am in no way saying the a fired up Indian crowd at their home pitch would do such a thing.

That raises the question, If you don't understand the abuse, are you being abused?"

Monkeygate incident at SCG in 2008 was exactly a case of the above. The Indian player abused Andrew Symonds in Hindi (a common street profanity in India), Symonds who had already faced racism in India earlier mistook it for being called a 'monkey' and the issue blew up big time.

As far as this incident is concerned, seems it was a case of usual sledging (common in Australia) which got out of hand. Can't really make out racist abuse from the video, though it is clear that the crowd was after Siraj.

https://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/india-reveals-list-of-racial-slurs-allegedly-said-to-its-cricketers-in-sydney/news-story/37fbfa002bb839704e8e3541ba999b11

0 ( +2 / -2 )

There's a video on reddit r/cricket purporting to show the player being racially abused, but I honestly cannot hear it, I urge you to check it out for yourself- I can hear them calling him Shiraz, a play on his name, but nothing that sounds overtly racist. I may be wrong and the video is only about 25 seconds long, so who knows what went on at other times, but if there was racist abuse, ban the abusers immediately and throw the proverbial book at them.

Also- Indian crowds, as one, screaming 'monkey' at Andrew Symonds after Singh had called him the same thing on field during the 'Monkeygate' incident in which the BCCI used its financial muscle to quell the claims of racism.

Having said all that, racism is an international problem, and Australia is no exception in this regard.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Well it is not just drunk bogans at SCG who indulge in such behaviour. Even the crowds at stadiums in India can be a bit volatile at times..

This article is on racism in Australia..which is wide spread and experienced in every sphere of life.. as for crowds in Indian stadiums..that's not "racism" but targeting the player for abusive/racist behavior while playing in India..

The Indian player abused Andrew Symonds in Hindi (a common street profanity in India)..

Hindi is a language not a common street profanity.. please keep your hatred to yourself..

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

@mrtinjp

Yes of course. When crowds in Australia do it, it is racism but when crowds in India call Symonds a monkey it is just that the player is being targeted because Symonds is actually a racist. Great logic.

"Hindi is a language not a common street profanity"

As if I don't know that. Bhajji abuse Symonds with a 'teri maa ki' which Symonds interpreted as being called a monkey after he had been abused similarly in India.

Since you are so defensive about racism in India and refuse to believe that Indians can be racist also, please refer to the abuse that Inzy (aloo which means potato in Hindi in case you are not aware) faced in Toronto at the hands of Indian crowds and later on when he came to India. But of course he is a Pakistani so Indians were only proving their nationalism in this case.

3 ( +7 / -4 )

As if I don't know that. Bhajji abuse Symonds..

That is a definite.. well your friend Bhajji faced mind boggling abuse while playing in Australia.. so finally he responded in kind.. and that profanity is available in every language. And you do have a point on that Inzy incident..but than you would also know the kind of language used by pakistani team in literally every match against India.. now things are though a bit better..

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

No offense to any decent Indians; I do believe the majority of them are very decent. In general, complaining about racism from Indians do not go down well. It is a part of everyday life. Indians can not differentiate between what is racist and what is not. Many of them say offensive words as being ignorant.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

This article is on racism in Australia..which is wide spread and experienced in every sphere of life..

No it is not. This is an article about racism in Australian sport. The above statement is not correct.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

It must be a first mentioning cricket on JT.

They couldn't even find space for an article after the incredible World Cup final in 2019. JT really needs to start throwing cricket fans a bone once in a while even if they don't understand the rules themselves.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Cricket is a Gentleman's Game. Bowlers, batters, fielders, wicket-keepers, match-officials, TV and radio commentators, statisticians, media analysts, law and order keepers, pitch curators and fans make it a colorful and an enjoyable celebration of life. Long live the Gentleman's Game.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Cricket. Bad memories of having to play this game at school as a punishment for a fight in the changing rooms.

“The English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity”

GB Shaw.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The accused have had all charges dropped by NSW police. Siraj needs to apologise, those individuals have been pilloried by all and sundry.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"The accused have had all charges dropped by NSW police. Siraj needs to apologise, those individuals have been pilloried by all and sundry."

Charges dropped does not mean incidents of racism never happened. It only means there was not enough evidence to charge them with racism.

The 'alleged' incident happened on day 3, whereas the group was evicted on day 4. One is not even sure if it was the same group that was involved in the racist abuse on day 3 that got evicted from the ground.

If you go through the video (of day 3 incident), it is not clear that there was racial abuse involved though one can make out something vaguely similar to 'brown dog', but can't be sure.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Cricket is a Gentleman's Game

It started out that way but it is no longer for gentlemen. Sledging other players has become the norm and it is not part of the game itself, except that those who do it think it is. It has turned the great game ugly and needs to be made illegal with players punished and the team penalized for sledging.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@EvilBuddha,

Charges dropped does not mean incidents of racism never happened. It only means there was not enough evidence to charge them with racism.

Where did I say it did? I actually said that exact same thing.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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