Racism In Sports Media And How It Is Perceived

By Mattie MacDonald


Racism by definition is simply the act of discrimination in terms of the race of an individual. In other words, it is looking down on people based on their race, may it be their ethnical background or the colour of their skin. Racism in sports media has over the recent past been a controversial issue that has raised eyebrows.

Journalism is seen as the best tool that can bring people from all walks of life together. Here, no matter where one is from, they can be able to speak the same language. However, in a world that is faced with so many ethnical hitches, media now becomes a center where persons can hate on each other especially in sports hence bringing enmity.

Sport is discussed on a daily basis in the various internet sites. People talk about the games as they happen and they are free to express their views in whatever way that they feel best fits. Racial discrimination becomes a matter of concern as people talk trash about the players, abusing them due to their pigmentation or ethnical background which can be very demoralizing.

During the big games, players from different countries are engaged to participate. There are other times when language becomes a barrier as the players are of a different language and are not equipped with translators to commentate on these games for them. This has been an issue for only certain languages which draws back the problem to discrimination.

An issue arises in the case of how black players are covered during games. When a close investigation is done, one comes to the conclusion that most of the reporters are white. This affects the way reporting is done as some express their view saying that black players are just natural players that do not have to work as hard to make it to the big games which is a bad comment that may stir up negative feelings among people.

Although the issue of racism is still rampant, it cannot be compared to how it was in the early years; previously, when this was a real disaster. Media houses have had to come up with guidelines that minimize the use of discriminatory language and setting up of ethical codes that see to it that these small ethical communities are protected.

It is said that broadcasting can build and destroy. There are certain athletes who are just a darling to the public eye and because they are of a certain ethnical background there are those that are not happy about that. They just and patiently wait for one to screw up in the slightest manner so that they can escalate the issue and drug their name all through the mud until they are no more.

Racism runs very deep in sport media. In a bid to solve the issue of negative ethnicity, it is a wise step to balance the media crew in terms of race. This avoids domination of a particular race which triggers hate. When they are all balanced, it will be much harder for them to put across negative statements about others.




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