Resistance in Sports
Updated 2023-11-26
2023-11-22 ANWAR EL-GHAZI IS AN EXAMPLE OF PRO-PALESTINE SOLIDARITY FOR THE PRO SPORTS WORLD The Dutch soccer player, who was fired for using the phrase “From the river to the sea,” should be emulated and admired by fellow athletes who’ve remained silent thus far. The silence of the sports world in the face of Israel’s genocide in Gaza grows more deafening by the day. Only a few athletes like Anwar El-Ghazi of the Netherlands have dared to take a public stand in support of Palestine—and in El-Ghazi’s case, he has paid for it with his job. In times like these, attempts to remain apolitical are simply unacceptable. Dave Zirin takes aim at the silence of the sports world on Palestine in this edition of “Choice Words.”
Okay, look, the sports world right now is not exactly a beacon of free speech. I have talked to multiple players who are disgusted by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, as well as the US government’s funding of this war, but they’re afraid to say anything. Now, their decision to stay silent is understandable. They believe that if they say anything deemed anti-Israel, they’ll be told to recant, find themselves suspended, or end up out of work. For pro athletes, whose employment is never guaranteed and where the average career ends before you hit 30, the quiet is to be expected, but it’s also painful to see caring people muzzle themselves out of concerns for their livelihood. The logic of silence was reinforced recently when the Bundesliga team Mainz fired 28-year-old Dutch soccer player Anwar El Ghazi for social media posts expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and calling for a ceasefire. https://therealnews.com/anwar-el-ghazi-is-an-example-of-pro-palestine-solidarity-for-the-pro-sports-world
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Categorized Directory: News and Articles about Israel- Palestine Conflict
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