.jpg)
EVEN with the immense support for equality over the past few years with numerous campaigns and movements around the world, racism has yet to ease its grip on society at large.
In the field of global sports, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement among athletes within the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) has raised much awareness for the plight of African Americans in the US.
Despite efforts to curb the onset of prejudice in this segment of society, they are not the only ones to have fallen victim to social bigotry.
As a by-product of the current pandemic, racism’s stronghold has now extended to the Asian-American community as well, causing many of its members to voice out in protest of this calamity.
One individual who has refused to stay silent is NBA veteran, Jeremy Lin.
After an appearance on NBC Sports’ Bay Area television and the CBS podcast, The Debrief, with Major Garrett, Lin spoke out from personal experience on his Instagram post in late February 2021.
“Being a 9-year NBA veteran doesn‘t protect me from being called ‘coronavirus’ on the court,” wrote Lin.
Currently playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors after playing in the Chinese Basketball Association with the Beijing Ducks, Lin expressed that, “something is changing in this generation of Asian-Americans. We are tired of being told that we do not experience racism and we are tired of being told to keep our heads down and not make trouble.”
Compared to what we face in Asia, this statement may feel somewhat distant, but we have had our fair share of similar issues closer to home.
When Nike came out with their anti-racism advertisement, which voiced out support for minorities in the country, it was not received positively by many.
Recently, one of our contributors, Vijhay Vick, even raised the issue of Selangor forward, Ifedayo Olusegun, being racially abused during a recent match.
From the ashes of racist remarks and behaviour made in the past, the Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) FC has risen to reinforce the efforts of His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, Sultan of Johor, to foster unity amongst its brethren.
In line with JDT’s initiative, the Malaysian Football League (MFL) has also joined in the fight by playing messages promoting anti-racism before their games since 2019.
Evidently, racist attacks are still being made and reported, as per Vijhay’s commentary.
Although The Vibes had opined last year that we were unable to successfully advocate social issues through sports, recent developments have proven that we still have a long way to go. ─ The Vibes, 10 March, 2021
