British Sports Research Paper

Words: 1507
Pages: 7

In British society, sport provides a sense of cohesion and national pride. However, historically, British sport has been a predominantly white space. As British athletes and spectators become more ethnically diverse, social commentators claim that British sport, as well as British society at large, becomes less racist. This essay provides historical context for the immigration of ethnic minorities into Britain, and their involvement in sports, and then compares this to the current condition of ethnic minorities in British sport. It then analyzes some of the claims that have been made about Britain a post-racial society due to this sports participation, by comparing the framing of multiculturalism when bidding for the Olympics, and after the 7/7 …show more content…
The paper concludes by addressing the intersectionality between race and nation of birth, and highlights the disadvantage that comes from being an immigrant of color versus a white immigrant to Britain. Historically, sports like cricket and football were created by the British, and then spread to the colonies through colonialism. Sport, especially cricket, was seen as a tool to civilize the natives, and to reinforce British dominance, by placing the control of the sport in the hands of the British. Ethnic minorities have historically experienced resistance to their entry into British sport, especially elite British sports like boxing and cricket. (source) argues that the integration of sports was resisted by white British individuals because British identity was linked to participation in sports, and if immigrants, especially non-white immigrants, were to get involved in sports, white Brits feared that they would tarnish their British identity. As non-white immigrants started to gain British citizenship in YEAR (source), there was a suspicion around their loyalty to the nation, and sports were used to test this loyalty. The Tebbit test, invented by Norman Tebbit, was a test that checked for which country