The power of sport to protect… and ignore human rights.

With Ramon Spaaij

There may never be a good time to talk about human rights abuses. But we should make the time, especially when sport continually presents itself as a global platform for that very conversation.

When Greg Norman sparked world-wide condemnation with his statement “we’ve all made mistakes” while discussing the Saudi-Arabian-backed killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, it did not go unnoticed that he is CEO of the equally-Saudi-backed LIV Golf Investments aiming to launch a PGA-breakaway golf tour for the super-rich.

Norman’s immediate dismissal of a murder that was openly admitted to by the leader of the crime-committing nation – and the horrified world reaction to his comment – show the power of sport to highlight, and yet simultaneously, ignore human rights violations.

The Australian government joined many others in a decision not to send political delegations to the Beijing Olympic Winter Games to protest China’s questionable human rights record. Countries and sport governing bodies have banned their athletes and teams from competing against Russian opponents or on Russian soil as a sign of protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

November’s World Cup football in Qatar has been the subject of a decade-long debate about why the world’s biggest single sporting event was awarded to a country with a dubious human rights record to begin with. That record now has only worsened with evidence of mass exploitation and numerous deaths of the migrant workers hired to construct the Cup’s stadiums.

Today, ‘sport-washing’ – or cleaning a country’s, an organisation’s, or even an individual’s tarnished reputation by buying a sport team, hosting a tournament or sponsoring an event – is big business and a display of how sport can be a vehicle for soft diplomacy. With the global reach and bragging rights that flow from high-level involvement in international sports, sport can help a country or organisation gain respectability and distract from their poor human rights records. 

Human rights violations can also happen within sports, and much closer to home than we  may want to admit. Let’s look at how discrimination poses a risk to equal participation and treatment.

Why are women and Indigenous Australians under-represented in most sports, and as leaders in elite sport coaching or administration? Why is there only one openly gay professional soccer player in Australia? Why does the highest level of government support a bill that would make it easier to exclude transgender women from competing in female sports? 

We can also look at violations of the rights of children. Do all kids in Australia have equal access to sporting opportunities and facilities? Why have so many members of gymnastics and swim teams come forward to report abuse and toxic cultures that started when they were children?  

Participation in sport is recognised through internationally ratified declarations and treaties as a human right that every individual must have the opportunity to engage in, yet it is rarely recognised in national policy and practice.

Organisations such as The Centre for Sport & Human Rights work through the complex ecosystem of sports’ actors and organisers, broadcasters and sponsors, fans and athletes, to build respect for human rights at a global level so that it can remain true to its core aim of celebrating human potential and achievement.

At Victoria University, we will be co-hosting the 7th National Sport Integrity Forum with the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 26 May to explore how human rights in sport – abroad and at home – should rely on the same systems of fair play, rules, respect, and goodwill as those  that sports themselves are based on.

Titled ‘To boycott or not to boycott, is that the question?’ prominent thought-leaders including former Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove, Olympic legend Shane Gould, and journalist Stan Grant will debate if indeed, sporting boycotts or other means of campaigning against human rights abuse within and outside sports make much difference to how sporting events respond.

At the micro-level, this includes how we can better support issues of gender equity and inclusive access to sport and physical activity as basic human rights in our own local communities.

Unfortunately, Greg Norman has presented himself as a voice that dismisses human rights abuse at the top end of world sport. However, we have to realise that violation of basic human rights may be as close to us as our own local sporting club.

Some violations, such as women and girls having the same access to change rooms or toilets as their male counterparts when playing sport may seem minor in comparison to political killings or war crimes. But no violation should be condoned, justified or excused.

So, does sport have the power to shine a spotlight on human rights violations? It sure does, but sport also must reflect on how it can get its own house in order too.