Sports marks its ‘Black Lives Matter’ moment

Born in the US, the Black Lives movement took no time to grab world attention, dominating social media conversations and mainstream media headlines. Last week saw a surge in conversations as professional sports leagues decided to take a knee to protest racism in sports.

It began withMilwaukee Bucksrefusing the playoff game against Orlando Magic in a National Basketball Association (NBA) series match. Subsequently, NBA postponed a lot of matches, thereby kickstarting a series of protests.  In a dramatic move, New York Mets and Miami Marlins walked off the field after observing silence for a couple of seconds and draping a Black Lives Matter T-shirt across home. Tennis playerNaomi Osaka was also forthcoming in her protest, tweeted “Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman” while announcing her withdrawal from Western & Southern Semi-finals.

Theprotests are not onlyrestricted to US; England’s Women’s Super League players have decided to cease the game this season to show solidarity.During the National Hockey League playoff game in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, the banners of ‘end racism’ were flashed, resounding support for the worldwide movement. Last week also saw many sportspersons donningjerseys with “Black lives matter”, “freedom”, “peace”messages.

As sports fans are already cheering in support, will this movement gain more ground?