We were joined for this week’s Live Sport for Business Webinar by Nadia Power, Shairoze Akram, Ken McCue and Max Mauro to look at questions of race and ethnicity in Irish sport.
We spoke about the quiet or latent racism that is less violent than elsewhere around the world but is damaging nonetheless and has no place in a society that sees itself as progressive.
“People will sometimes ask you where you’re from,” said Akram, an All Ireland winner with Mayo at U21 level from 2016.
“I’d say I’m from from Ballaghaderreen, and they’d say no where are you really from.”
Nadia Power was taken aback by the reaction to here support for colleague Gina Akpe-Moses on race over the last week.
“I think a major part of making a difference would be to focus on the presentation of diversity in the media and advertising so that it better reflects the way we are as a society.”
“Individually we cannot make a difference but as individuals part of a larger community there is a lot of good work being done and through that we can educate future generations,” added Akram.
We spoke of Direct Provision as a stain on our society.
“The system is cruel. It’s a horrible system and should not have been introduced. It came in as a temporary measure and it really should be ended,” said McCue.
We asked a question of the room as to whether they would support a protest of kneeling during the Irish National Anthem at the Aviva Stadium or Croke Park, echoing events in US Sport.
The result was an emphatic yes with 79 per cent saying they would with 7 per cent against and fourteen per cent unsure.
Take a look back on the discussion here…