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Fresh off the press, the news is that Dean Jones was fired from his job as a commentator for making racist comments. He referred to South African Muslim batsman Hashim Amla as a “terrorist”.
According to a statement issued by Cricket South Africa on Monday, viewers heard Jones say, “the terrorist has got another wicket” when Amla took the catch that dismissed Kumar Sangakkara.
Amla is a devout Muslim who wears a beard for religious reasons and has successfully negotiated with the South African team’s main sponsors, SA Breweries, not to wear the Castle Lager logo on his playing and practice gear.
This isn’t the first case of racist opinion in sports. The recent and more publicized event was when Materazzi allegedly called Zidane’s mom a terrorist or something like that leading to the French dude’s expulsion in his final career game. Rush Limbaugh was caught making similar racist remarks regarding Philadelphia QB Donovan McNabb. I vaguely remember some English cricketer making a snarky comment - ‘chocolate drops’ - when few West Indian spectators tumbled down a coconut tree in the Caribbean. I am blanking out on his name; if you know please let me know in the comments.
We hear plenty of racist banter among our friends too and sometimes are tempted to snip back but choose to restrain ourselves in fear of jeopardizing our friendships or creating ‘a scene’. But honestly, the quicker such sentiments are nipped in the bud, the better it is for everyone; even the person holding a prejudice. I bet that sometimes they are just aren’t aware of their wrongness of their opinion and after telling them off once, they can eventually come around.
by Patrix | on Monday, August 7th, 2006 at 9:20 pm | 
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August 8th, 2006 at 2:17 am reply
We hear plenty of racist banter among our friends too and sometimes are tempted to snip back but choose to restrain ourselves in fear of jeopardizing our friendships or creating ‘a scene’.
So ..Very True. And one when chides them for making such comments, they usually come up with that classic line ‘I didn’t mean it’. Wonder ‘How ppl say things that they dont mean and mean things that they dont say’
And glad that Ten Sports took prompt action.
Cheers,
HP
August 8th, 2006 at 6:46 am reply
Perhaps this comment of mine is ‘racist’, but Australians do have a reputation of such remarks - remember the Darren Lehman episode when called a Sri Lankan player ‘monkey’ ? There also has been incidents of racism among spectators in Australian grounds.
The Rush Limbaugh comment on McNabb was not even overtly racist - he said that no one would be hyping McNabb as much if he wasn’t an African American player. But I remember he got roundly criticised for it (except for some rightwing nutcases). Perhaps they sometimes go overboard, but I prefer the zero-tolerance policy here in the US towards racism, compared to the brush under the carpet or ‘it was all in good fun’ attitude in some European countries and Australia.
August 8th, 2006 at 11:51 am reply
Hariprasad, that and “I am just kidding” has to be one of the most abused phrases to cover your prejudice. Of course, sometimes they just are.
Bongo, Well, if individuals from a certain country are more prone to dish out such remarks, it is a reflection of their attitude more than anything else. I can agree that aggressiveness in sports sometimes crosses a limit.
Perhaps the Rush Limbaugh comment was exaggerated but as you say, a “no tolerance” policy is better than letting it slowly gather steam after which shittake totally hits the fan.
August 10th, 2006 at 1:29 am reply
Very true! Two points though…
Firstly, the recent Mel Gibson episode sort of bolsters BongoPondit’s view of Australian racism. But that is not to say that Australia is anyway different from the rest of the world. Indians think nothing about calling Africans ‘kaaliyas‘ or even the NE Indians as ‘chinkis‘.
Second… its a puzzler. Should people hold racist opinions and refrain from voicing them in public or stop being prejudiced completely? If its the latter, then are you not denying a person from having his/her own views? As long as that person’s views do not hurt anyone else (i.e. if he/she does not express them at all), who are we to say anything?
Dunno if both these points are off-topic because your post was basically about racism in sports.
August 10th, 2006 at 10:35 am reply
Sameer, interesting indeed. I would advocate not being prejudiced at all but that probably is hoping for an ideal world. Prejudices are formed early on and eliminating them requires being empathetic and willingness to understand. But as long as they do not cause harm, physical or mental, having a prejudiced opinion may not matter. But prejudices often manifest during unexpected situations and often when you least want it to surface. Ask Mel Gibson. I’m sorry, I don’t have a straight answer but then this issue isn’t that simple either.
Perhaps Crash would be a good example to show how inherently everyone is racist. Yup! Indians often can be quite bad and we often even don’t realize it.
August 11th, 2006 at 12:57 am reply
Absolutely!
And I loved Crash for just that reason.