“I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with patriotism in sport,” said Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first Muslim American to win an Olympic medal, at the 2016 Olympic Games. “And that’s a better way to celebrate our patriotism and our commitment to this idea of our nationality,” Muhammad said. The back-and-forth of protest and compulsory patriotism at sporting events has come to a head over the past five years. The protests forced organisations such as US Soccer, FIFA and the NFL to reconfigure policies that required athletes to respectfully stand during the national anthem. “The ritual of playing the national anthem prior to sporting events reinforces our sense of belonging,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in an interview this week.

Source: bd News24 September 11, 2021 05:26 UTC