Powerful protests in sporting history

The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has been a controversial one, to say the least. While nobody can dispute the quality of the football itself, there has been plenty to talk about off the pitch.

Criticisms about the host nation’s human rights policies have been voiced by activists, politicians, journalists and even the players themselves. Germany was a notable example of this when team members covered their mouths during a photo in protest against governing body FIFA.

The team were protesting against a ruling that prohibited seven European teams from wearing rainbow armbands on the pitch in a coordinated show of solidarity for the LGBTQI+ community. “It wasn’t about making a political statement — human rights are nonnegotiable,” the German team said in a statement on Twitter.

Though one of the biggest talking points so far has to be the ‘silent protest’ the Iranian team held during their national anthem prior to their match with England to draw attention to the persecution of women in their home country who refuse to wear hijabs.

Of course, protests in sport are not exactly a new thing. Though many pundits may not like it, athletes are humans with feelings, ideas and beliefs outside the sport they play. It makes sense that they would want to use their respective platforms to draw attention to the issues they care about.

Throughout history, sporting protests have opened up wider public discourse and helped shift attention to issues on a global scale. Let’s take a look back at some of the most powerful and iconic protests in sport.

When it came to standing up for what you believe in, few athletes can match the passion and conviction of Mohammed Ali. While Ali is remembered now as perhaps the greatest boxer of all time, for much of his career he cut a polarising figure.

Whether it was his conversion to Islam shortly after winning the heavyweight championship in 1964 or his black nationalist stance at a time when both topics were highly controversial, Ali was not afraid to rock the status quo.

His most contentious move came in April 1967 when Ali protested the Vietnam War by refusing to be drafted into the US Army. By June 1967, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to five years in prison, fined $10,000 and banned from boxing for three years.

While Ali managed to avoid jail time by appealing the decision, the ban from the sport robbed him of three years at his competitive peak, not to mention millions of dollars. He eventually returned to boxing in 1970 and his conviction was overturned the following year.

In what has to be one of the most iconic sporting protest images of all time, the fallout from Black Power salutes at the Mexico City Olympic Games continues to be analysed and scrutinised, some five decades after the actual event. 

After African-American runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos finished the 200-metre sprint final in first and third place respectively, they stepped onto the podium shoeless and raised their fists in protest of black segregation in their homeland.

The move was widely condemned by the Olympic committee, the media, and political figures. Both athletes were sent home in disgrace and received a life ban from the Olympics. It also effectively ended the career of the silver medalist, Australian Peter Norman.

Though Norman did not participate in the salute, he did wear a badge small badge in support of the ‘Olympic Project for Human Rights’ organisation. He became a social pariah for his involvement and never ran at the Olympics again.

Women’s Tennis would look very different without Billie Jean King. On the court she could claim to be the best in the world, racking up 20 Wimbledon wins between 1961 and 1979, but it’s her efforts behind the scenes that had the biggest impact.

In June 1973, she organized the Women’s Tennis Association and threatened to lead a boycott of the US Open if the prize money for winning the finals was not the same for men and women – a move that ultimately pushed women’s tennis forward into a stronger competitive era.

In September she played Bobby Riggs in the historic “The Battle of the Sexes,”. She easily beat the former men’s champion to really drive home her point about equality.

In an interesting case of fans using a sports platform to protest social issues, the Springboks' chaotic tour of New Zealand is certainly one to be remembered.

While a rugby tour is usually met with undying enthusiasm from Kiwis, the apartheid policies of the visiting nation had put the South Africans at odds with the wider public. In fact, calls had been made to ban the tour months prior.

Ultimately the tour did go ahead, however, riot squads and extra police protection were required at all times to protect the touring team as each game drew thousands of protesters. It even led to the cancellation of two games as hundreds of rioters broke down fences and invaded sporting grounds.

Ultimately, the controversy cemented New Zealand’s stance on apartheid and the All Blacks would not tour South Africa until after the fall of the apartheid regime in 1992.

In an example of doing your talking on the field, Jesse Owens made a statement by showing up to the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlim at a time when many of his fellow athletes had pulled out in protest against the Nazi regime.

As a proud African-American Owens felt it was important to show Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany that their concept of an Arayan master race was flawed, to put it mildly. Owens took home four gold medals and was a standout athlete for the games. Hitler was reportedly furious!

In perhaps one of the most well-documented sports protests in recent history, Colin Kaepernick will likely be remembered more for his activism than his performances on the field.

The 49ers quarterback started a national and international debate about racial prejudice and patriotism that ultimately led to media outrage, public riots and condemnation from Donald Trump – all by simply kneeling during the national anthem.

Kaepernick's decision to take a knee was a simple gesture that he hoped would draw attention to the racial discrimination felt in the wider African-American community. 

While there’s no denying he helped bring this conversation back to the wider consciousness, it ultimately put his playing career on ice with the 49ers or any other NFL team willing to take him on a new deal.