Essay: When cheers turn to racist jeers, the worst of us wins
The first time I watched an international soccer match was in my high school French class, in which my French-born teacher loved to point out the"beautiful game" that most Americans dismissed at our own cultural peril.
This day, he had us watching reruns of a friendly match between England and France that took place earlier that year. While he pointed out the grace and strategy of the game and tried to explain for the umpteenth time what"off sides" meant, I couldn't help but notice anti-racism banners scattered throughout the stadium, something.
As a teen, I was aware of the abuses that many pioneering athletes of color have suffered as they pushed America toward a more inclusive sporting future; I also believed it practically unheard of, in the 1990s, for bananas to be tossed onto the gridiron turf during a clash between the Cowboys and Oilers.
In the past few years, however, it seems as though sports fans are dialing back the clock, or maybe lifting the veil, as a disturbing trend sprouts across the nation: racial harassment and abuse in sports.