![]() ![]() Their decision not to play came in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, who is Black, in Wisconsin. But they showed little interest in congratulating themselves or talking about basketball after the first NBA game played since they declined to take the court on Wednesday night, when Game 5 was originally scheduled. The Bucks advanced to face Miami in the second round, beginning Monday. "We're still out there on the floor taking care of our mission and what we want to achieve, but I think being through all this brought us together even more." "You could just feel the closeness," said Lopez, who had 16 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 17 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 118-104 on Saturday to close out the Eastern Conference series in five games. Brook Lopez sensed bonds between Milwaukee Bucks players strengthening after their decision to boycott a playoff game sent ripples across the NBA and other major pro sports leagues, which joined in suspending play to protest against racial injustice.Īnd when it was time to return to the court, they were in sync. In doing that, we can truly recognise sport as the universal human right that it is, and it can remain true to its core objective of celebrating human potential and achievement.LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. ![]() While sport can indeed be a valuable platform to promote human rights, we must also recognise it doesn’t take much for sport to become exclusive, divisive and controversial.Ĭrucially, leveraging sport to advance human rights requires that human rights safeguarding by Australia, Russia or Qatar is measured by the same yardstick, recognising that much work must be done to ensure each country’s own sporting environment is inclusive and free of discrimination. In this case, it hurts those who cannot be blamed for the war (the banned tennis players), and the unintended consequences (no ranking points) hurt the wider community of professional tennis players.įrench Open: understanding why Russian and Belarusian tennis players are competing despite Wimbledon ban But taking a stand does not defend nor protect. What the ban has achieved is to signal that the Wimbledon organisers take a position against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yet even though the tournament can call the world’s attention to its stand, has banning players from invading nations proven to be an effective means to defend and protect human rights? ![]() Wimbledon organisers are clearly trying to make a point: invading the sovereign territory of another nation is unacceptable. Banning hand gestures and kneeling ignores their history The Olympics have always been a platform for protest. However, most nations do not fully recognise and implement this notion in policy and practice, with access to sport participation often marred with complexities and hypocrisy. ![]() We should take to heart that even the practice of sport is a universal human right under the Olympic and European Sports Charters, and other internationally ratified declarations and treaties. Why, for example, do Indigenous Australians remain under-represented at the elite and community level in most Aussie sports? Why are Australian women missing as leaders in coaching? Why is there currently only one openly gay male professional soccer player in Australia and no openly gay male AFL players? Why have so many members of Australia’s gymnastics and swim teams reported abuse and toxic cultures that started when they were children? STR/EAP/APĪlthough arguably less extreme in nature, Australia is not absolved of human rights deficiencies in sport. Migrant construction workers building infrastructure for the Qatar World Cup worked in very harsh conditions. This has now only worsened with evidence of mass exploitation of the migrant workers constructing the Cup’s stadiums. November’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar remains a topic of a decade-long debate questioning how FIFA could award the world’s biggest sporting event to a country with a dubious human rights record. The global influence of sport can become a vehicle for soft diplomacy and pursuing legitimacy. Such investments in “sportswashing” – using sport as a thin veneer to present a sanitised, friendlier version of a political regime or an organisation – are big business. And sport plays an important part in that, such as the example of Qatar using the FIFA World Cup as a confirmation of their credibility and ability to host a globally significant event. Nations accused of violating these rights have found strategic, proactive approaches to counter the punitive, reactive, and short-term approach of economic boycotts. Former Australian golfer, Greg Norman, was widely condemned for his comments on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. ![]()
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