Racism rears its ugly head again

Read my lips! No, not some new ‘moniker’ for GulfWeekly’s latest online advertising, but reference to a growing trend to judge players by TV.

It’s time to get on my horse again, not to discuss the marvellous opening to the Bahrain racing season in Sakhir, but to vent my frustration at the ugly elements of sport that have reared their head this week.

Racism has been present in many sports for years although, due to the publicity it receives, football has been at the forefront of the campaign to eradicate it from both the field of play and the terraces.

In England, for example, the Kick It Out campaign has run successfully for a number of years, supported by numerous famous players, past and present, from a variety of origins.

The subject of racist abuse is treated so seriously that, should an official complaint be made to the police, they are duty bound to investigate and, providing there is sufficient evidence, a prison cell could await the offending party.

All national and international associations adopt a similar stance with teams receiving fines, bans or being forced to play matches behind closed doors.

That racism has been so prevalent in football makes the recent accusations by defenders Patrice Evra and Anton Ferdinand against Luis Suarez and John Terry less surprising. In the modern era of football with so many camera angles available makes it difficult to believe that anyone could ‘get away’ with any form of racism.

The difference in reporting and substance between the two cases is surprising, with Suarez’s investigation, or lack thereof, only being raised by his manager who wants a swift resolution.  Terry on the other hand, has already been subjected to ‘trial by lip reader’, presumably as a result of his status as England captain and therefore a truly upstanding and inspirational leader of the national team. I have no doubt that justice will prevail; let’s hope quickly.

What has shocked me is that alleged racism has found its way into the gentleman’s game of golf. You would probably have to be an avid follower of the game to have even heard of Steve Williams. For those who have not, he has previously been New Zealand’s top earning sportsman on the back of carrying a set of golf clubs for the sport’s most famous son, Tiger Woods, earning millions in the process.

Williams was present as Woods won 13 of his 14 Majors, although he is no stranger to controversy, having previously embarrassed Woods by making unfavourable comments about his Ryder Cup partner, Phil Mickleson.
 
To be fair, Williams’s loyalty remained unquestioned as he retained a dignified silence as news of Woods’s various infidelities spread, to be rewarded with the sack.

He quickly found a new employer in the form of another golfing prodigy, Australian Adam Scott. Immediately he appeared to have found the Midas touch as Scott claimed the Bridgestone invitational title, leading to a wild and unusual celebration, surpassing that even of the triumphant golfer himself.

It was this celebration that was mockingly being recognised at a private end-of-season caddies’ awards dinner. On receipt of his award for ‘Celebration of the Year’, Williams was questioned as to his motives. His alleged racist remark left many at the dinner shocked.

The response from the golfing fraternity has been intriguing to date, with nothing official from any of the governing bodies and precious little from any of the professionals.
 
Personally, I would also like to see Scott, a man renowned for retaining a clean-cut image, to act decisively rather than to downplay this unsavoury incident.

I appreciate that the comments from Williams were made at a private function while those attending were in ‘high spirits’. However, even though Williams could be described as a peripheral figure in the sport, there can be no place for comments such as his.
 
In many respects this should make any disciplinary procedure easier – imagine how much harder it could be to punish a player, and a high-profile one at that.

While one cannot read too much into the lack of action at such an early stage, I do believe that the European Tour, PGA and even sponsors need to act quickly and decisively, following the lead of football. Golf has an opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the world and, more importantly, ensure racism is given no opportunity to take a hold in the sport.

Another governing body given the opportunity to act quickly and decisively is the International Cricket Council (ICC). Following the UK conviction and subsequent jail terms handed out to Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Aamer, the ICC needs to now significantly increase the resources it allocates to its anti-corruption unit.

England captain, Andrew Strauss, recently described the unit as a ‘toothless tiger’ and ‘hopes that only a minor number of players are involved’. Now that journalists have uncovered the full scope of the problem the ICC needs to act and particularly target the Pakistan Cricket Board which appears, from the outside at least, to be, at best, turning a blind eye to the problem.

The trial has revealed how sophisticated the players have become, purchasing numerous SIM cards before disposing of them. Bizarrely, it took the intervention of Canada’s finest, the Mounties, to build the case – they have the technology to retrieve the content of past text messages from a SIM card and used this to assist the British authorities. 

Following the announcement of her engagement to Australian cricketer Shane Warne, perhaps Liz Hurley should invest in the same technology!