Panesar Controversy

all-inclusive multicultural space, there is still a significant fear of the “other” that isn’t removed by Muslim visibility in the Olympics.
While Hall is correct in claiming that the recent visibility of ethnic minorities in sports is significant, this visibility alone is not enough to eradicate racism from sports. Non-white bodies, especially black bodies, are often portrayed as being more physically gifted than white bodies (Koenig, 2008). By contrast, white players often have their bodies described as fragile, so their success comes from working hard despite the disadvantage that they have due to their bodies. For example, Laura Trott gets praised for winning medals at the Olympics, despite almost having died as a baby (Jones, 2012). According

Ben Carrington (2010) describes how fans would dress up as Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, a South Asian international England cricketer, to show their admiration for him. White fans dressing up in fake beards and imitation head scarves, even if done with good intentions, straddles the line between hero worship and cultural appropriation (Carrington, 2010). This mimicry reduces symbols of Panesar’s culture to crude caricatures, without any understanding of what these symbols mean. It is also worth noting that Panesar was often referred to as Monty in mainstream media (Carrington, 2010), which implies a need to westernize one’s name in order to assimilate into British sport, and to be accepted by a British audience. When asked to comment on multiculturalism, and on his place as a British Asian athlete, Panesar once said that his success showed that Britain was a multicultural society, where everyone is treated the same (Carrington, 2010). Given that Panesar had to modify his own name to fit into British sport, it is quite significant that he had been socialized into reproducing the narrative of Britain as a multicultural society that offers equal opportunity for all. This highlights Carrington’s (2010) argument that multiculturalism is a narrative that can be used to deny racism in British society. It also shows that athletes of color are

Paul Pogba, a black Manchester United player, is extremely popular with millennials due to his personality and playing style. Manchester United uses this personality and image to market products from its sponsors. This is highlighted by one specific Adidas advertisement titled I’m Here to Create, where a young Pogba is shown growing up in a working class household, and developing his creativity by playing football. The advertisement opens with young Pogba playing a pickup game of football in a parking lot with makeshift goal posts, hinting at his working-class status and lack of access to a proper football field (Adidas, 2016). It then goes on to show his rise to fame, giving him a rags-to-riches narrative, and suggests that he was able to find success due to his talent and creativity, and that perhaps other black boys can do the same. While this is a positive message to convey, it is important to be critical of the fact that it is conveyed by Adidas in order to sell its products, and that while the message may be that young black working-class boys can become Pogba one day, there is also an implication that these same boys should buy Adidas products to reach this goal. Pogba’s individual creativity is hence turned into a commodity, and his identity as a black player is used to market to black individuals to profit the largely