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THE PLIGHT OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN SPORTS.

KINYA NINA, UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI. The sustainable development goal number ten aims at reducing inequalities in line with our theme which is the future that we want so that we can create an inclusive society where by we are equal and discrimination is minimal. SDG number ten among other factors aims at promoting the right to self-determination as well as end racism. In today’s society, we live at a time where people from different backgrounds and races live together and interact in different aspects of life like at schools, workplaces or even in sports. Unfortunately, we tend to experience certain things that affect the interaction negatively. According to Llies and Bulz, 2017, sports attract individuals from all races and lifestyles which includes the whites, Blacks and all races of the earth. When we talk of plight of people of color in sports, we talk about difficulties that that any individuals who are not white face. These difficulties range from racism, discrimination especially in the aspect of gender as well harassment. Sociologist W.E. B. Dubois wrote that, ‘the 20th century issue is the issue of color line. ‘Sports attract a lot of attention especially in media coverage where by in recent times we have seen an inclusion of both blacks and whites in teams and football clubs. This would look like there is equality but statistics show that among the whites 78.0% are in sports, Latino’s are 7.2%, Africans are 6.8% and the remaining percentage is owned by other races. This is clear that whatever aspects were used in picking or allocating sport slots weren’t fair as the whites own a high number. Equality means having equal chances. We see athletes and football coaches train so much when it comes coaching abilities. Rarely does a black trained coach is picked to manage teams. Look at the Manchester United string of coaches over the years. Has there been a black coach? If yes how often? This shows that behind the scenes, racism exists and it feels like whites are made to feel superior and have ability to run teams while the blacks cannot. despite there being a lot of black candidates for these managing positions, there are slim chances of them being picked or chosen {Anderson,1966.} Recently we had James Even LeBron who is African and plays NBA says,’ no matter how much money you have, how famous or how admired you are, being black in America is tough.’ He is not immune to racism as well. In June 2017, his house was vandalized with racial slurs just a night before NBA finals. It is common that black athletes face racial slurs in the locker rooms or from the stands and this is even shown in movies. Blacks also face stigma when it comes to sports may it be football, volleyball, athletics or even basketball. This generally arises in relation to stereotypes. Over time, blacks have been said to be close to apes hence they lack intelligence but they are physically strong and they are muscular. We have seen the case of Serena Williams which is a hallmark of how white supremacy tends to degrade black women. She was good at tennis and severally was underpaid, undervalued and as a black she was named catsuit due to her black skin. This also applied to Caster Semenya who after winning field Worlds Championship in 2009 was labelled a man and she had to undergo several tests to ascertain her gender. This brings in the question that can’t black women stand equal chances just like whites do? In 2018, the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports recorded 52 instances of racial discrimination in sports in USA alone. Nearly 40% of women in sports face discrimination and 53% of reports made in anti-discriminatory charity; Kick out involved racism. Though the society aims at including all races and gender as well as sexualities and religions, it is important to thoroughly examine all racism and discriminatory examples in sports so as to make it inclusive. In my research I examined 2016-2017 racism cases in relation to English football team {EPL}, and women’s super league. In this season cases that made it to kick out were 216 cases related to race and 44 related to gender. This brings me to agree that blacks are being incorporated slowly in football and other sports like the likes of Naby Keita in Liverpool, Sadio mane or the likes of our very own Kipchoge Keino. The solution I can come up with would be lets all embrace equality by agreeing that men and women stand equal chances. Let challenge harmful norms like saying that one race is superior than the other instead let’s give them all chance to explore and better their abilities. Let’s us also focus on creating an inclusive and diverse environment. For instance, let coaches and players interact at personal levels, learn about each other’s culture and appreciate it just as it is. Most importantly let people from all walks of the earth manage and take part in different spheres of teams, clubs beginning from participation, coaching, administration as well as management. REFERENCES. 1.	Anderson, P. M [1966.] Racism in sports 2.	2. Du Bois, W.E. B [1903] The Souls of Black Folk 3.	Kahn, L. [ 1991] Discrimination in Professional sports 4.	Matiut O [2012], Football and Racism in Ireland. Management of the University of Dublin.