Black Lives Matter and the Premier League — Is it working?
Racism, in its many forms, is a striking problem that persists in the modern world. The English Premier League is no different. As a football fanatic, I have seen racism from the viewpoint of a fan, in our very own game, by our very own players. Racism from fans, racism from other countries fans, anti-racism campaigns, symbols, togetherness, racism is a core issue that persists very much so within the game.
Black Lives Matter has been a topical campaign in recent affairs, with many sports and respective leagues taking the opportunity to embrace the movement in light of sending a message that opposes racism, and ultimately aims to ‘unite’ people. Although the Black Lives Matter movement has been effective, it has brought up many topics of discussion within racism, within the media around it, many are questioning whether it is still the right direction that clubs and players should be perusing.
The Premier league recently changed its stance on the topic, dropping the Black Lives Matter badge from its shirts. This was then replaced by ‘No Room For Racism’ badge instead. While one could see the route that the Premier League were taking with this decision, it could also be viewed as a general ‘brand positive’ agenda that takes away the anti-racism message at a difficult time. Some could see that this may give a mixed message, perhaps that there was something wrong with the Black Lives Matter message, that need it be changed.
‘There are two reasons to make a change, and we must reason that the Premier League chose one of them. The first is that you believe that there is something wrong with the original. The second is that there is something inherently better in the replacement’.
Daniel Storey, iNews
It remains to be seen whether this message has been effective/as effective as the Black Lives Matter slogan. Taking the Knee was a joint message in conjunction with Black Lives Matter, displayed by all teams and players across the country. Recently however, some players (and teams) have disarrayed from the idea of ‘taking the knee’, as they feel it has ‘lost its meaning’.
Wilfried Zaha, a black premier league player of Ivorian descent, announced in July that he will stop taking the knee and instead ‘stand tall’. He stated that he has been brought up as being proud to be black, stating that taking the knee has just become something that we do now, and he has claimed it is ‘not enough’. Zaha, being one of a number of figures that have begun to view the idea in a negative light, feels that not enough is being done under the current movement. This could foreshadow the beginning of a number of players to follow suit, or perhaps act in a different light, as to what is being done now, the current gesture of taking the knee is providing mixed opinions, predominately from those most effected by racism within the game.
