Racist reporting, sitting out to take a stand, and a new sports quiz show
By Natalie Serafini, Editor-in-Chief
Sometimes sports news requires tidbits and brief bytes, rather than lengthy in-depth articles. For those times, we suit up in our Sport Shorts and delve into the curious occurrences of athletics.
That Vancouver newspaper in the red
The Vancouver Sun is apologizing for running an article featuring a photo with a racially insensitive caption on September 23. The online article noted that Vancouver Canucks player Jordan Subban had scored his first NHL goal, and the caption for the photo of Subban celebrating with his teammates identified Subban as the “dark guy in the middle.”
The Vancouver Province also ran the photo, and both newspapers have tweeted that they will ensure such insensitivity never happens again, and that they’re investigating the matter. The Vancouver Sun’s digital deputy editor, Gillian Burnett, is claiming that a photographer wrote the caption. For his part, Subban had a very gracious response to the egregious caption.
In an interview with the Vancouver Province, Subban said, “I heard about that. I had a chance to talk to a representative from the paper and it seemed like a pretty honest mistake. Am I worried about that? No. If people should be talking about something, it should be the way I played last night rather than that. Hopefully it will just die down.”
Qatari players sit out to take a stand
The Qatar women’s basketball team walked away from a tournament in protest of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) ban on headscarves. In Article 4.4.2 of FIBA’s official rules, hijabs are banned from international play.
When UmmahSports.net contacted the International Basketball Federation regarding this matter last May, communications coordinator Simon Wilkinson responded that these rules applied “on a global scale and made no distinction between the various religions so as to ensure that none of them are being targeted specifically or discriminated against.”
Regardless of whether the federation is or is not trying to discriminate against players, the fact of the matter is that Muslim players are unfairly prevented from playing because their religious beliefs do not conform to federation rules. Ahlam Salem M al-Mana of the Qatar women’s basketball team said, “We have to show everyone that we are ready to play, but the International Association is not ready.”
There are no definite plans to alter their rules, despite repeated requests from affected cultures and societies. Wilkinson states that “FIBA’s Technical Commission … has, as of yet, not recommended … any modification to Article 4.4.2,” while the Guardian reports that FIBA may discuss the matter over a “two-year ‘testing phase.’”
So you think you can sport
There’s a new sports game in town, and it’s not one that will test your brawn or mettle; this game is a quiz show which tests your sports know-how. Sports Jeopardy is hosted by sportscaster and host of The Dan Patrick Show, Dan Patrick, and premiered on Crackle on September 24. Crackle’s website describes the show as a take on the classic Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy, but “with the rich and diverse world of sports.” Patrick reports that they’ve taken on Howie Schwab, of ESPN’s Stump the Schwab as a consultant to ensure the questions are tough enough, and famed Trebek will also be making an appearance in one of the episodes.
