Sports News

Lewis Hamilton says some drivers' reluctance to take a knee before the Austrian Grand Prix is down to a lack of understanding of racism.

F1 drivers were set to take a collective stance against racism before Sunday's season-opening race, but some are not comfortable with the kneeling gesture.

Hamilton said he had made his point to the drivers at a meeting, adding: "I described the scenario that silence is really generally complicit. There is some silence in some cases."

World champion Hamilton added: "But I think it is part of a dialogue of people trying to understand, because there are still some people who don't fully understand what is happening and what is the reason for these protests and I continue to try to be that guide and try to influence as many people as I can with it."

A report earlier suggested that while the drivers were united in their opposition to racism, a minority had misgivings about taking a knee before the race.

This is partly because of the political connotations of the gesture in some countries, and partly because some did not appreciate what they saw as Hamilton's accusatory tone in his social media messages asking other senior figures in the sport to issue anti-racist statements following the murder in police custody of unarmed Black man George Floyd, in the US.

Briton Hamilton, 35, said that he was not accusing the drivers specifically, but rather the industry at large.

After qualifying second to Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the Red Bull Ring, he said: "In the meeting I acknowledged to a lot of drivers that there was an interpretation of a message I posted asking for people to speak out and their silence, and just saying thank you to who said something on their social media platforms because they have a great voice and platform and encouraging the others to say something."

All the drivers were expected to wear T-shirts bearing the message ‘End Racism’ before the race, and Hamilton added that he had not personally decided what other gestures to make.

"I don't have any plans at the moment," he said. "I have not thought that far forward, but I am sure over the evening we will. We spoke a bit in the drivers' briefing. Interesting. But it was good that we are all at least in discussion. I don't know what we will see - potentially people paying their respects in their own ways."

Asked whether he believed it constituted an issue if some drivers did not go down on one knee before the race, he replied: "We know there's an issue. We don't need an experience like tomorrow to prove there is an issue."

Red Bull driver Alexander Albon, a British-born Thai and F1's only other non-white driver, said: Of course I stand by diversity; every driver does.

"We are all going to take a minute to express a [desire for a] change in diversity. I don't know what we can say or not. I am going to leave it there. It is still in the works. You will see tomorrow. We are all against racism. We are going to take it individually."

Aston Villa Women are delighted to announce the signing of Scotland international Chloë Arthur from Birmingham City.
 
The 25-year-old midfielder will don the claret and blue for the 2020/21 season, having spent the last two campaigns with the club’s cross-city rivals.
 
Arthur, who has also spent time with Celtic, Hibernian and Bristol City during her career, is Gemma Davies’ first summer signing ahead of the new Barclays FA Women’s Super League season.

Davies said: “Chloë is a current Scottish International, who also has an abundance of Super league experience having played at Birmingham and Bristol City.
 
“She’s a very technical player, with a fantastic ability to weave the ball out of tight spaces, under pressure and play into bigger areas.
 
“I feel that there is so much more to come from Chloë, as she has a huge amount of talent and I’m really excited to see how she continues to develop in a Villa shirt.”
 
The Super League season is aiming for a start date of 5-6 September.

Ahead of the upcoming Test Series, West Indies captain, Jason Holder has said that players found guilty of racism should face the same penalties as match-fixing and dopers.

While the ICC (International Cricket Council) rules allow for a life ban for on-pitch racist abuse, culprits are rarely punished to that extent.

Holder said: “I don’t think that the penalty for doping or corruption should be, in any way, different for racism.

“If we have got issues within our sport, we must deal with them equally”.

A first offence results in four to eight suspension points.

Two suspension points equate to a ban for one Test ore two One Day International matches.

Holder, who is set to lead the West Indies side in a three-Test series beginning on July 8, said that an anti-racism feature can be introduced where players will be briefed about the issues ahead of each series.

Holder said: “In addition to having anti-doping briefing and anti-corruption briefings, maybe we should have an anti-racism feature before we start a series.

“My measure is more education needs to go around it.

“I’ve not experienced any racial abuse first hand but I’ve heard and seen a few things around it”.

He went on: “It’s something that you just can’t stand for”

British Athletics has today announced that the Müller British Athletics Championships will take place on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th September, with events to be held behind closed doors at the Manchester Regional Arena. 
 
The format and shape of the competition and guidelines that will be adhered to for competitors and those helping to stage the championship will be subject to the government guidelines in place and will be communicated in due course.
 
The championships will be broadcast live on Friday night on BBC2, 1830-2100 and Saturday, afternoon on BBC1, 1315-1630.
 
Joanna Coates, CEO of UK Athletics said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our athletes an opportunity to compete and still become British Champions at the end of the summer in what has been the most unprecedented of circumstances for all sport.
 
“People will be aware of my passion for women’s sport and I am grateful that the gender mix in athletics means everyone gets to return to the field of play. However, for those sports where men and women compete in separate structures, I urge those organisations to ensure efforts getting women’s sports back up and running are championed with the same passion and sense of urgency.
 
“Thanks to the BBC for supporting us to showcase our sport under the Friday evening lights, and also to Manchester City Council for their investment into the facility and working with us to confirm we could stage this event in such challenging times.
 
“We are sorry that we cannot host our brilliant athletics supporters this year but hope for a healthy return for fans at sports events next year and to welcoming spectators to next year’s Olympic trials scheduled for 26-27th June.”
 
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, Executive Member for Skills Culture and Leisure said: 
“Although Mancunians will sadly not be able to attend in person, we’re delighted to be working with British Athletics to enable the 2020 Müller British Athletics Championships event to go ahead.  
“As a world-class sporting city with elite facilities such as Manchester Regional Arena, plus a strong commitment to encouraging and widening sporting participation, Manchester is the natural choice to play host to this prestigious event.”
 
Ticket purchasers will receive an automatic refund via the method of payment originally used to buy tickets and will not need to do anything or make contact. However, given the extraordinary circumstances and high volumes placed on banks during these times, the refund process may take slightly longer than usual.
 
Finally, discussions are still ongoing with the Wanda Diamond League in relation to the Muller Grand Prix Gateshead which we can confirm is no longer scheduled for 16th August.   We have identified 12th September as a possible alternative however confirmation cannot be given at this time due to UK Government guidelines and restrictions and the event will now be held behind closed doors. Ticket purchasers will receive a full refund.

After recent events that uncovered the appalling lack of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) presence at a leadership level in the sport sector here in the UK, Recently it was reported there were only 5 black women on sports boards out of 415. We at Sporting Equals felt it key to highlight the lack of equality of opportunity in recruitment in our sector and how it impacts BAME communities.

Equality of opportunity in employment translates to, fairness in which all job applicants are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers or prejudices or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. Allowing each viable candidate an equal chance of success in securing employment.

The lack of equality of opportunity is prevalent in the sport sector. With potentially 95% of senior management, board members and the workforce being white. This lack of presence had already been acknowledged with change implemented by the FA to remedy the problem of racial prejudice hindering hiring practices in the sector looking at coaching specifically.

The FA introduced the ‘Rooney Rule’ – this rule implements a procedure whereby sporting authorities– must interview a BAME applicant when recruiting for senior coaching positions, on the basis that they meet the role specification. There is no quota or preference given to BAME communities in the hiring of candidates the rule simply reinforced equality of opportunity to worthy candidates, while accounting for unconscious and conscious bias against race. This rule first trialled in the USA to aid with similar issues of racial prejudice impacting hiring procedure in the NFL.

The FA followed suit and adopted the ‘Rooney Rule’ in 2018.

We feel it is pivotal to replicate the ‘Rooney Rule’ across the sport sector at every level from Board and senior positions right down to entry level, to ensure the eradication of nepotism within the sector tackling conscious and unconscious bias and dismantling of racially prejudiced hiring practices by allowing for candidates of all backgrounds who fit the role specifications to have an equal footing. We wish to go beyond coaching and leadership, looking at the sector as a whole. We must extend this rule across the board to create fairer and more equal recruiting practices in our sector. Recently the Minister for Sport Nigel Huddleston highlighted that he is open to looking at targets and reviewing implementing a ‘Rooney Rule’ structure here in the UK.

There is a severe lack of representation, diversity and equality when looking at race in the UK’s sport sector. An implementation of the ‘Rooney Rule’ across all levels of the sport sector would only positively affirm and ensure we are vetting, interviewing and hiring the best possible candidate – thus allowing for and protecting equality of opportunity.

We must now act and commit to making changes that will give real and visible results which we can measure and evaluate, this is a necessity if progress and equality is to be achieved.

Formula 1 has launched an equality and diversity taskforce to increase the opportunities for minority groups.

The move is part of a wider commitment that will also see F1 support initiatives fighting against the coronavirus pandemic and promote sustainability.

It coincides with the start of the delayed 2020 season in Austria in July.

Formula 1 boss Chase Carey said: “At our first race in Austria, Formula 1 will stand united to say loud and clear that racism

It follows after Lewis Hamilton announced plans to set up a commission in his name to increase diversity in motorsport.

The current – and six time – world champion said that he wants the Hamilton Commission to make “real, tangible and measurable changes”.

In a newspaper column he said: “Despite my success in the sport, the institutional barriers that have kept F1 highly exclusive persist.

“It is not enough to point to me, or to a single new Black hire, as a meaningful example of progress”.

Parents are being offered an online ‘sports day at home’ pack thanks to a leading housebuilder’s partnership with Team GB.
 
With the current Covid-19 crisis still unfolding, many parents have had to get used to home schooling amid the uncertainty of when their children will return to school.
 
Now Persimmon Homes Central, thanks to its ongoing partnership with The British Olympic Association, is offering parents the chance to download special sports packs for free and start planning their own sports day at home.
 
World Championship silver medallist and Team GB Tokyo 2020 hopeful Laviai Nielsen (athletics) helped to launch the virtual sports day scheme.
 
The campaign also includes a social media competition asking people to take a picture or video of their home sports day and either comment on Facebook or upload to Instagram with the hashtag #PersimmonSportsDay to be in with a chance of winning a £250 Amazon voucher.
 
Neil Williams, managing director of Persimmon Homes Central,  said: “We are all going through unprecedented times, and we hope that our sports day campaign will bring a smile to people’s faces and help households plan a day of fun and activity. These packs are designed to help inspire the sporting passion of the younger generation.”
 
The sports day packs support the British Olympic Foundation’s youth engagement programme, Get Set, created to inspire a generation of young people and celebrate the Olympic values of respect, excellence and friendship.
 
Last year, the housebuilder supported schools by sending out free Team GB sports day packs, to help give events a special Olympic and Team GB twist.
 
To download a virtual sports day pack, visit https://www.persimmonhomes.com/sportsday

Famous Birmingham site, Sarehole Mill, is asking Birmingham’s citizens to grab their trainers and take part in a new 5K challenge, Run of the Mill, to help raise vital funds for Birmingham Museums Trust.

Over the last 11 weeks Sarehole Mill has adapted its offering to keep engaged with the local community and now the team are encouraging us all the explore the area around the 250-year-old watermill and enjoy the benefits of getting active with this new event.  

You can run, walk or jog the 5K distance anytime during July, as long as you start or finish at Sarehole Mill and complete the distance in one go. The £10 entry fee will help to raise money to support the work of Birmingham Museums, a charity with nine extraordinary museum and historic properties across the city, including Sarehole Mill, which is the inspiration for this fun run.

Participants will get an exclusive Run of the Mill medal, which they will collect from the Sarehole Mill Community Shop and can go the extra mile and fundraise further to help Birmingham Museums if they are able to do so.

During this time the team at Sarehole Mill have worked hard to adapt and support the local community. You may have visited the Community Shop, which is stocked with essentials, such as flour and tin goods; enjoyed a freshly baked loaf using the Bake and Take service made by resident baker Sis Kaur; or ordered a recipe kit box, with everything you need to make one of Sarehole Mill’s popular Bakehouse pizzas.  

While Sarehole Mill has been able to adapt, the other eight Birmingham Museums’ sites, including Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Thinktank, and Aston Hall, have had to remain closed because of the Coronavirus pandemic. These initiatives have helped to keep Sarehole Mill to stay connected to local people, but this continues to be a challenging time for Birmingham Museums.  

Alex Nicholson-Evans, Commercial Director at Birmingham Museums Trust, said: “We’ve had such an amazing level of support from the local community at Sarehole Mill during this time, and it’s been fantastic to see people visiting the shop, buying fresh bread and sharing positive feedback about the Bakehouse. But this is still a very challenging time for Birmingham Museums, as the majority of our sites are still closed. Run of the Mill is a great way to help us raise funds, whilst also getting active.

“Many of us are appreciating the outdoors more than ever and we wanted to capture this by launching Run of the Mill throughout July. Whether you walk, jog or run, you’ll get to explore the beautiful surroundings of Sarehole Mill, receive an exclusive medal, and help Birmingham Museums too.”  

For more information about how to enter the run and how to fundraise visit www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/blog/posts/run-of-the-mill-sarehole-mill-fun-run-open-for-entries. This includes a 5K route suggestion.

The return of Premier League football last night caused a nationwide spike in data traffic on the O2 network from the week before, as fans streamed the games live.
 
Data traffic started to increase after 4pm and began to peak at 6pm.

The busiest hour was 8pm – just before kick-off for the Manchester City vs Arsenal match – where O2 saw a 13% increase in the amount of data used nationwide.
 
The home cities of the four teams playing last night saw differing patterns. Interestingly, Liverpool saw one of the largest spikes (21% at 7pm) as fans hoped for a potential City loss.

Sheffield – 7pm 24% increase in data traffic
Birmingham – 7pm 13% increase in data traffic
Manchester – 8pm 21% increase in data traffic
London – 8pm 11% increase in data traffic 

Brendan O’Reilly, Chief Technology Officer at O2, said: “Our data shows that the football is bringing Britain together again – whether that’s chatting via text or calls, or online sporting ‘Watch Parties’ – with yesterday’s matches allowing us to return to some sense of normality. During lockdown, O2 has doubled elements of our network capacity to ensure Britain stays connected and it’s great to see we’ve been able to help fans watch football again.”
  
Since the lockdown began, O2 has offered its customers 388 million free minutes, as well as 3 million GB of data to NHS employees at the forefront of efforts to battle the coronavirus and rebuild Britain.
 
O2 experienced an initial 25% increase in phone calls as Britons checked on their friends and family, with people spending 30% longer on the phone since lockdown.

Bowler Kemar Roach has declared that “there will be no friendship” when West Indies face England fast-bowler, Jofra Archer during the upcoming Test series.

Barbados-born Archer played three times for the West Indies Under-19s before opting to play for England before playing for his new adopted team against the Windies side in the ICC World Cup in 2019.

This summer will be the first time that will face time that he will come up against them in a Test match.

Fellow Barbadian Roach said: “It is all about playing hard cricket and winning.

“Jofra’s made a decision and I think that he’s doing a fantastic job for his career.

“Obviously there will be no friendship at the start of this series.

“It’s all about winning and playing our cricket. If we come up against Jofra, we will devise a fantastic plan to counter it. I’m looking forward to the battle”.

Archer claimed 20 wickets to help England win the maiden 50-over World Cup in 2019, before making his Test debut in the Ashes series against Australia.

Former England Women’s Football star, Enio Aluko has said that she has “acknowledged and accepted” former international teammate, Nikita Parris’ apology for a controversial goal celebration in 2017.

The international striker described celebrating with the then-England coach, Mark Sampson, who was accused of using discriminating language to Aluko, as “thoughtless”.

In response, on her social media platform, Eni wrote: ‘Although I’m yet to speak with Nikita, I acknowledge and accept this apology.

‘Thanks.

‘Black women should always strive for unity not division.’

Aluka, now Sporting Director of Aston Villa Women’s football team, added: “During the current climate, Nikita leads the way for the England Women’s football team in acknowledging and addressing past individual and collective actions with regards to racism”.

After scoring a goal against Russia, Parris, 26, pointedly ran to Sampson to celebrate in their 6-0 World Cup qualifying victory in 2017.

The former Manchester City player who now plays in France for Lyon wrote on social media: ‘At the time I focussed more on what I believed was showing unity when really it did nothing of the sort. It showed a lack of empathy, understanding and ignorance by singling out a voice that needed an ear to listen and a support system to help’.

In the aftermath, Eni said that Parris’ celebrations were not respectful considering the number of complaints against the former manager at the time.

The English Football Association apologised to the 102-capped Alluko for racially discriminatory remarks made by Sampson after a third investigation into his behaviour, but cleared him of bullying accusations.

At eight-years-old, Tanitoluwa Adewumi was already a ‘Champion’ after winning the K-3 New York State Chess Championship after playing the game for only one year.

The Nigerian-born schoolboy, who began playing the game just to pass the time whilst sitting in his father’s shop in Abuja, was beating all before him from the get-go.

It was after his father, Kayode, who ran a print shop in his homeland and accountant mother, Oluwatoyin, took him and his brother, Adesina Austin, immigrated to the United States – having (being Christians) sought religious asylum amid the political turmoil being undertaken back home by the Boko Haram organisation.

Whilst being homeless in a foreign country, his parents making it one of their priorities to maintain the education of their children, Tani was enrolled into an elementary school and, as during his early days there, he was introduced to a chess club by one of the teachers and in 2018 he played in his first tournament.

In 2019 Tani competed in the Annual New York State Scholarship Championships where he was graded eighth out of 74 competitors – with a large number of whom were from well-to-do families and could afford private tuition.

His youthful, aggressive style of play would get learned academics making scientific studies of his application to the game.

Leading YouTube chess stream ‘agadmator’ took time to publish and analyse his game.

Legendary former World Champion, Garry Kasporaov, heaped massive praise on the achievement by a refugee immigrant in America.

And, back in his native Nigeria, Abike Dabiri, the Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora to the president, Muhammad Buhari, called Tani; “a pride of the nation”.

Back in the US, he was getting attention throughout, which includes invites to meet former president Bill Clinton and being interviewed on some of the country’s leading broadcasting organisations – all keen to find out more about the enigma that is Tanitoluwa Adewumi.

Furthermore, he was getting funding support – the likes of which would set him, and his family, up educationally and wellbeing-wise from then on.

A total in excess of $254,000 was raised, with offers of accommodation, for him and his family, on-going education, chess books and even cars were pouring in - in droves.

There is now even a trust called the ‘Tanitoluwa Adewumi Foundation’ which is set up to help other children who are in similar situations to him.

With the ambition to becoming the youngest ever chess Grandmaster, three of Hollywood’s leading film companies are trying to outbid each other for the rights to tell his story.

His autobiography; ‘My Name Is Tani’, is already out in book stores.

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will start 24 hours later than the original scheduled time because of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the sporting calendar.

The move will allow all the athletes who are competing at the World Athletics Championships in Portland, Oregon, in the United States – which finishes on July 24 – an extra day of recovery.

It will also avoid a clash the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s Football Championships which is due to take place in England from July 6 to 31.

Both Championships were originally scheduled to be held in 2021 but had to be postponed to 2022 after the rescheduling of the Tokyo Olympics following the global outbreak of coronavirus.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Executive Board has approved the change for the Games and it will now run from July 28 to August 8.

A joint announcement from the CGF said: “It ensures that Birmingham 2022 will now boast two full weekends of Commonwealth Sport whilst extending the rest and recovery period for those athletes competing in the World Athletics Championships.

“The alternative to the opening ceremony date also avoids a potential clash with the semi-finals of the recently rescheduled UEFA Women’s Football Championships, helping to protect and promote the profile of women’s sport”.

John Crabtree, Chair of Birmingham 2022 said: “As well as this slight change to our dates we are working on a detailed competition schedule for our 19 sports, looking at how we can maximise the recovery time for those athletes who will be looking to participate in more than one major event in two years time”.

On their return to action, England’s Premier League clubs are set to replace players’ names on the back of jerseys with the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ for the first games back since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic brought all activities in the UK, and around the world, to a stand-still.

The proposed intention, which is yet to be finalised, is for clubs across the country’s top Division will sport the support for the movement when the league returns on June 17

The decision by the Premier League follows support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the Bundesliga in Germany.

There, Bayern Munich players wore warm-up shirts and armbands with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ message on them, whilst Eintracht Frankfurt wore jerseys with the same message.

Following the lead taken by the Bundesliga, which subsequently followed recommendations by FIFA to not discipline players who were in violation of the Laws of the Game for displays of political or personal slogans on the field, the Football Association in England, who previously indicated that it would take steps against such acts, have said in a statement: “Where any behaviours or gestures on the pitch that may constitute a breach of the laws of the game have to be assessed, they would be reviewed on a case by case basis with a common sense approach and understanding of the context.

“The power of football can break down barriers across communities and we remain deeply committed to remove all forms of discrimination from across the game we all love”.

As coronavirus continues to take hold, in addition, the Premier League club’s jerseys are also set to feature patches that will honour the National Health Service workers for their extensive work during the pandemic.

Progress in the fight against racism will only come in football when more Black players become managers, according to Manchester City and England forward Raheem Sterling.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been taking part in anti-racism marches and protests throughout the length and breadth of the UK, following the murder of American George Floyd, in Minneapolis, in the USA.

“The protests are a great starting point to making people’s voices heard”, he said.

“But just protesting alone is not going to make a change in this country”.

He went on to say: “The change is being able to speak to people in Parliament, people at the hierarchy at my football club, clubs across the country, people at the national team, to implement change and give equal chances to not just Black coaches, but coaches from across Britain’s wide multi ethnic communities”.

In 2018, the Football Association announced in an equality action plan that 5% of its leadership roles and 14% of England coaching staff were filled by people from a BAME background.

In the same plan, the FA set targets of 11% and 20% respectively.

“When there’s someone from a Black background I can go to in the FA with a problem”, Raheem went on to say, “I might have within the club, that will be when I know change is happening and not just in my field, also in Parliament”.

England manager Gareth Southgate, who has always encouraged his players to speak out and say what’s on their mind, said that he admired the way in which many of his national team have campaigned since the George Floyd murder in the United States.

He said: “The last few days have seen Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings talking so eloquently about the situation across the world and the Black Lives Matter movement”.

On the stance taken by Sterling, he added: “Football is no different to any other big business and it too must change”.

In today’s multi-culturally diverse football in today’s multi-culturally diverse Britain; how multi-culturally diverse is today’s boardrooms who are appointing the managers?

Germany’s top flight Bundesliga teams showed their support for the ever-growing Black Lives Matter movement with a range of protests during fixtures throughout the country over the weekend.

Both Borussia Dortmund and Herther Berlin players all took a knee together around the centre circle before their meeting at Signul Iduma Park.

Dortmund players warmed up in T-shirts with messages which included ‘No Peace, No Justice’, and ‘United Together’.

Bayern Munich players wore T-shirts which said ‘Red Against Racism’ before their 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen.

During the game, the Bundesliga leaders also wore armbands which read ‘Black Lives Matter’.

Mainz’s Cameroon-born striker, Pierre Kunde took a knee after scoring his side’s second goal in their 2-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Around the world, record-breaking Grand Slam legend, Serena Williams, France’s World Cup-winning captain, Paul Pogba and six-time Formula 1 Grand Prix champion Lewis Hamilton MBE have all raised their voices over police brutality against Black people.