In this piece, my first as a Contributing Editor for The Barnstormer, I draw a comparison between the the Quebec Soccer Federation's short term ban on wearing turbans in youth soccer with the growing movement to remove the name 'Redskins' from the Washington NFL team. This piece explores how both cases reveal ways that societal institutions have the power to define the meaning and place of symbols or icons that belong to ethnic minorities. In reviewing the cases, considering the harms resulting from the external appropriation of symbols, and assessing the role of the media, the piece shows how sports is both a location for the maintenance of traditional power hierarchies as well as a site in which social hierarchies can be challenged and disrupted.
Symbols of Control
By Avi Goldberg
There's been a lot of talk in the last several weeks
about two issues in sports that may not, at first glance, appear to have
much in common. In one instance, Quebecers, and many Canadians,
agonized over the case
of the Quebec Soccer Federation’s (QSF) policy, now overturned, to
prevent Sikh boys from wearing turbans on the pitch in Quebec youth
soccer. At the same time, debate has intensified over the question of whether it’s time for the Washington Redskins to respond to mounting pressure
to change its name given the pejorative connotations associated with
its original selection and current use. I’ve heard no detailed
comparisons made between these two situations, but their specific
dynamics, consequences, and surrounding media discussions share a
narrative about the limits to, and potentials for, social inclusion in
North America.
You can continue to read the piece in its entirety here.
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