Politics in Sports
Written by; Tao MacLeod
The involvement of politics in sport is not only unavoidable, it is inevitable. Sport is inherently linked to the wider world in a way that is unique to the social hubs that they hail from. Communities have historically formed around teams and clubs, providing platforms for positive interactions from participation to spectating, with charitable and vocational elements thrown in for good measure. However, the sports industry is changing (for better, or for worse). The professionalism and commercialisation of football is testament to this. As footy (alongside and ahead of other activities) has moved towards becoming a part of the entertainment industry it has removed itself from its historical base. Teams are no longer rooted in the communities that founded and formed them, having a knock on effect for those that are left behind.
This can also be seen in the franchise leagues of North American sports such as baseball, ice hockey and American football, where teams have been know to be moved from one location to another for commercial and economic reasons. These decisions have social impacts and therefore are of political value. Those who say that politics and sport shouldn’t mix are only seeing a part of the picture. As I stated in the paragraph above I see that the two are inexorably rooted together. There are many positives and negatives to all of this. Let’s explore them together…

Negatives of Politics in Sport
Governments have been known to use sport to provide value to, or promote their ideology, and perhaps mask their dodgy policies and behaviours. This is often referred to as sports washing. Examples of this have been the Argentinian dictatorship organising the 1978 football World Cup, the Qatar monarchy running the 2022 football World Cup, the Russians with both the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and the football World Cup in 2018 and the NAZIs hosting the Berlin Olympics 1936. Whilst these events were being hosted in these countries (where the political leadership had overt control over social institutions, as well as public messaging) foreign diplomats would have felt torn over their presence providing legitimacy to a state with poor human rights records. Media correspondents and journalists would have been placed in similarly precarious positions of promoting a regime with whom they might disagree. However this latter point could have the opposite effect to what a dictatorship desires, as we saw with the attention drawn to what was happening in Argentina, when they hosted the World Cup. The tournament attracted international protests and the junta’s record was brought into question.
We have also seen state interference in sports clubs during the cold war. Different governmental branches of the Soviet Union were known to have their own teams. Any side that had the pre-fix of Dynamo were associated with the secret police and intelligence services. Similarly those with CSKA in the name were supported by the military. Performances were linked to departmental and political pride, with all of the wrangling that would come along with this. Russian sport during this communist era was a lot stronger, with clubs and national teams competing at a much higher level than we see today, but the athletes themselves had far fewer rights in terms of choice of employment and earning potential.
Similar issues arose around doping. With political perceptions and pride on the line players and athletes were pressured to take supplements and undergo medical treatments that were detrimental to their health. A lot of what happened in the mid to late part of the twentieth century prompted greater regulations around the use of performance enhancing drugs and the greater awareness of the issues that we see today.

We have also seen the alienation of certain peoples because of the policies of the local, regional, or national government at the time. The state sponsored racism in the United States of America, in the early half of the twentieth century created some very sad stories. The sport of boxing has attracted many African-American participants over the years, as a method os escaping adverse socio-economic situations. Jack Johnson and Muhammad Ali both experienced terrible abuse, despite fantastic success. Ali was reportedly refused service at a small town diner upon returning home after winning the Olympic heavyweight title, simply because of his ethnicity. Although this was an example of disgusting and unethical behaviour, it was at the time, perfectly legal under American segregation laws. His suspension from the ring, due to his stance on the Vietnam War is another instance of political overreach into sport.
Similarly, those athletes, or personalities who use their positions to punch down and discriminate against minorities can do much harm. The anonymity found in the use of social media, or the facelessness of a large sports crowd allows people to spout prejudice, racism or discriminatory views is something that unfortunately still exists. Many organisations are starting to clamp down on this, but there is still work to be done. Individuals who pour scorn on those within the LGBTQ+ community are not merely exercising free speech, they are forcing people to hide who they really are in public, perhaps even deal with difficult mental health issues unnecessarily. Those spectators who attend large scale events and sing horrid little songs, shout misogynistic slogans, or are discriminatory towards homosexuals should be treated with the same legal and social consequences as if they were racist. Unfortunately British society (as well as other countries) hasn’t quite got there yet.
The dominance of privately educated players and athletes in youth sports is something else that we have seen. Rugby and field hockey both are sports that are played largely across fee paying schools. Those pupils who are fortunate enough to come from well off backgrounds and have the opportunities to partake in these extra curricular activities are able to learn from professional coaches and have access to additional playing opportunities. This is something that is rarely offered to those within the state system, who are therefore at a disadvantage. A two tier system within youth sport, based around social-economic status, is the antithesis of the meritocracy that sport is supposed to be and it is a problem. The educational and health benefits that come from the participation in youth sport is something that should be available to every young person and child, but is demonstrably not done so in an equitable manner. If this is not a political issue then I don’t know what is.
Positives of Politics in Sport
There have been many positives of the involvement of politics in sports. The push for social change has often come through the spectacle and the participation (or lack of thereof) by members of certain communities at a variety of levels competition and situations that have been highlighted at major events. In terms of female participation and equality we have seen great strides made by marathon runner Bobbi Gibb who, in 1966, became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon.
The Amateur Athletic Union had decreed against women competing in AAU-sanctioned races over a mile and a half. This was due to the misogynistic and cognitive dissonant excuse that women were physiologically incapable of running 26 miles. These were the medical grounds that had prevented Gibb from competing, irrespective of that she had been training for the required distance for quite some time in the build up to the event. Bobbi snuck into the pack before the start of the race, pulling a baggy hoodie up and over her head, masking her identity. Under this guise she was able to complete the course, only revealing her identity towards the end. That she finished ahead of approximately two-thirds of the rest of the runners, she proved that women could compete.
In 1967, Kathrine Switzer the American became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor. Using her initials, instead her feminine first name and having a male runner collect her bib number, she was able to start the race, alongside coach Arnie Briggs and her boyfriend Tom Miller. At some point during the run race co-director Jock Semple noticed a woman was on the course. He chased after her, looking to force her off the course. It was at this point Switzer’s boyfriend bundled this idiot out of the way and helped her to continue to the end. Alongside Bobbi Gibb she was able to breakdown the sexist barriers for future generations.

Further female representation and advancements came through Billie Jean King. The tennis star was the best player in the world during the mid 1960s. She rallied against the system in many ways, including the sexism prevalent at the time. There was a famous exhibition match, dubbed the Battle of the Sexes, against former men’s grande slam winner Bobby Riggs. Her opponent that day had put forward the chauvinistic claim that the female game was inferior and that no elite woman could beat him. King beat him in three straight sets. She also looked to break the glass ceiling in terms of earning potential. Billie Jean became an advocate for equality in prize money between men and women and helped to drive forward advancements in egalitarianism. She was effectively a champion for workers rights and financial recompense.
Staying with advocacy, both the footballer Megan Rapinoe (a former member of the US Women’s National Team) and retired tennis player Martina Navratilova have been strong role models within the LGBTQ+ communities, although many disagree with the racquet star’s views on trans inclusion. They have been not only vocal, but active on a variety of issues from equal pay to gay rights, with opinions on American politics thrown in for good measure, whilst also providing visibility and representation within the public sphere. Megan Rapinoe has also come out in support of American footballer Colin Kaepernick in his stance against police brutality & racial inequality with regards African Americans. Kaepernick’s decision not to sing the USA’s national anthem, a strong tradition within American sports, instead to take a knee was a very public protest about the ways to go in the civil rights struggle within his country. What this did was to bring to the attention of a broad spectrum of people what is still happening in the lives of many people, continuing a conversation about racism and social justice in western countries. His career and earning potential was damaged by his principles in the face of institutional backlash, showing what some athletes are willing to sacrifice in order to help others to have a voice.
Another example of the strive towards the improvements of workers rights came from the sport of (association) football. Teams have to tell the relevant national federation which players will turn out for them when competing in tournaments such as the league and cup competitions. Up until the mid 1990s they held exclusive rights over the registration of each individual and to this day often sell this to the highest bidder for a profit. However, a change occurred in 1995, after a landmark legal case brought by who was then a little known midfielder from Belgium. Jean-Marc Bosman had come through the youth team at his hometown club Standard Liège, before moving to RFC Liège in 1988.
When his contract expired two years later, he decided that he wanted to move and play in France for a side called USL Dunkerque. This was effectively him deciding who to work for and where he wanted to ply his trade. He was unable to do this, however, as there was a disagreement about the transfer fee between his employers and their French counterparts. Jean-Marc was made to stay where he was, against his will. He decided to sue not only his employers, but the Belgian and European Football Associations as well. The case eventually went before the European Court of Justice and in 1995 they found for the player, agreeing that his freedom of movement as a worker had been impinged. Now, if a footballer’s contract expires he or she can take their labour elsewhere, effectively becoming a freebie for a new club. This has become known as leaving on a Bosman and has increased the negotiating power for individual athletes within the football industry.
In terms of helping people to maintain a semblance of normality, during the hard times that life can bring, sport can also provide some more examples. Chris Hulme wrote a fantastic book titled, Manslaughter United; a season with a Prison Football Team. Here he describes how being a part of a team can have a positive effect on those who have made mistakes in their lives. Another interesting read is More Than Just A Game: Football v Apartheid, by Chuck Korr and Marvin Close. This details how the political prisoners and freedom fighters on the hellhole that was Robben Island (there due to their stance on apartheid in South Africa) used football to find a sense of dignity, sanctuary and respite from their otherwise horrid surroundings.

Conclusion
Sports clubs can provide a sense of community and belonging. As a team moves up a league pyramid and towards the elite level they can come to represent the area that they hail from. Similarly teams, and indeed individual athletes, can come to represent values for different groups of people. The African American sprinter Jesse Owens found success in the 1936 Olympic Games, winning gold medals in the 100 metre, 200 metre, 4×100 metre relay and long jump events. Held in Berlin, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, his success became a protest against the racist ideology of Adolf Hitler and his NAZI Government. Similarly Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier within baseball, when he signed for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He became the first African American to play Major League Baseball and effectively signalled the beginning of the end of racial segregation within American sports. The Dick, Kerr Ladies Football Club became the world’s first great women’s footy team, pushing the boundaries and social norms of how women were expected to behave in the first half of the 20th century. More recently, German men’s side FC St. Pauli are able to attract fans, not only from their native Hamburg, but from around the world, due to their progressive principles around society, politics and inclusion. People want to feel a part of a community and share a sense of identity. Fans look up to role models for a variety of reasons. Athletes and teams who break glass ceilings and portray their community in a good light can become more than just entertainers.
To try to ignore politics in sport, because of the negative aspects is not only fruitless, but I would say impossible. Those who insist that the two should be kept separate, I find, often do so when defending sponsorship deals with arguably dodgy companies, or links with inappropriate national governments. It also allows those who would do so for their own negative, or selfish gratification to carry on unhindered. Within this article I hope that I have set out a variety of examples of how organisations, federations and athletes can have a positive impact on those around them. Using sport as a tool for social improvement is both a large part of what it is about and a political act in itself…