Peter Anderson 🏸 A picture appeared on my Twitter feed this week proclaiming the world's worst dinner party guests, featuring Lewis Hamilton, Gary Lineker and Gary Neville. 

Maybe not "the world's worst" as there would be much to talk about, but it gave me a chuckle anyway. Lineker has featured much in the news recently after he stated that as a youngster, he faced racial discrimination! Despite obviously being very white, he stated that, as a boy, he was more tanned than his contemporaries and faced racial abuse because of it. This nonsense produced some classic memes.

And this weekend he caused more kafuffle on Twitter by showing his support for the protesters who held up the F1 race to highlight Big Oil's role in climate change. Lewis Hamilton also chimed in his support for the protesters. Indeed, he has had much to say on climate change even though he competes in fossil fuel's biggest advertisement vehicle. I never tire of watching Lineker and Hamilton make twats of themselves, but on a serious note it highlights the minefield that is when sport meets politics.

My desire to see as little politics in sport is known to readers of this blog. Having said that, the right to protest must be protected. Some of the best political protests have occurred in sport. Emily Davison's death during the 1913 Epsom Derby arguably did more for the suffragette cause than anything else; while Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the U.S. national anthem at an NFL game raised awareness of racial discrimination in America to new heights.

It is impossible to criticise these actions no matter how much against politics in sport you are. However, sitting on a F1 race track, or a motorway for that matter, to stop the traffic, may not have the same impact as that which Davison and Kaepernick achieved. 

Last week, Qatar stated that anyone protesting for gay rights during the World Cup will face years in prison, and that visitors must respect their laws and culture. It will be interesting to see what the world's worst dinner party guests will have to say about that.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

Never The Twain . . .

Peter Anderson 🏸 A picture appeared on my Twitter feed this week proclaiming the world's worst dinner party guests, featuring Lewis Hamilton, Gary Lineker and Gary Neville. 

Maybe not "the world's worst" as there would be much to talk about, but it gave me a chuckle anyway. Lineker has featured much in the news recently after he stated that as a youngster, he faced racial discrimination! Despite obviously being very white, he stated that, as a boy, he was more tanned than his contemporaries and faced racial abuse because of it. This nonsense produced some classic memes.

And this weekend he caused more kafuffle on Twitter by showing his support for the protesters who held up the F1 race to highlight Big Oil's role in climate change. Lewis Hamilton also chimed in his support for the protesters. Indeed, he has had much to say on climate change even though he competes in fossil fuel's biggest advertisement vehicle. I never tire of watching Lineker and Hamilton make twats of themselves, but on a serious note it highlights the minefield that is when sport meets politics.

My desire to see as little politics in sport is known to readers of this blog. Having said that, the right to protest must be protected. Some of the best political protests have occurred in sport. Emily Davison's death during the 1913 Epsom Derby arguably did more for the suffragette cause than anything else; while Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the U.S. national anthem at an NFL game raised awareness of racial discrimination in America to new heights.

It is impossible to criticise these actions no matter how much against politics in sport you are. However, sitting on a F1 race track, or a motorway for that matter, to stop the traffic, may not have the same impact as that which Davison and Kaepernick achieved. 

Last week, Qatar stated that anyone protesting for gay rights during the World Cup will face years in prison, and that visitors must respect their laws and culture. It will be interesting to see what the world's worst dinner party guests will have to say about that.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

2 comments:

  1. The concluding paragraph will, as matters unfold, will probably prove to be the crucial point in the piece.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those three could bore the arse off a donkey. Give me Roy Keane, Graham Souness and Ally McCoist for banter. The qatar bender ban...can't imagine many lgbtqi+-#$ community going there so the point is mute in my opinion.

    ReplyDelete