The Politics Of Sport: The Race Conversation

By Shane Thomas

Roy Hodgson, the England manager. A racist? Personally I don't think he is. My thoughts are much in simpatico with journalist, Natasha Henry, who tweeted more eloquently than anyone else that I've heard on this issue.

The Politics Of Sport: Shaun Tuck's Islamophobia - Over To You, FA

By Shane Thomas

I had no plans to pen another post so soon after my last one, but the tragic recent events in Woolwich have put paid to that. So how does a violent murder connect with the world of sport?

The Politics of Sport: Sergio a Symptom of Golf's Bigger Problem

By Shane Thomas

Seasoned golf followers have been long aware of the enmity between Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods. The antipathy between the two men recently became common knowledge during The Players Championship at Sawgrass. During the third round, Garcia accused Woods of inciting the crowd to make noise, putting off the Spaniard during one of his shots.

The Politics Of Sport: A Caucasian Haven

By Shane Thomas 

This post has a couple of trigger warnings: 1) It will contain racist language, used for the purposes of reportage. 2) All of the video links embedded in this post are 'Not Safe for Work', due to both content & language. 

It's not often that I foray into the world of darts, but this story is one that shouldn't go ignored.

The Fall Of Tebow Gives America Its Very Own Black Mirror

By Shane Thomas

This week's sporting metaphor concerns Charlie Brooker's brilliant television mini-series, Black Mirror. In the first episode, "The National Anthem", the plot centres around the British Prime Minister (Michael Callow) being forced into a situation where he has to have sex with a pig on live television (this blog post will contain spoilers for the aforementioned episode).

When Sporting Fandom Becomes Fanaticism

By Shane Thomas


In recent weeks, an alarming aspect of sport has come to the fore. The partisanship of supporters - normally a crucial component in the heft and resonance that makes it such an appealing aspect of life for some of us - has descended into a ugly sump of rabid, one-eyed protectionism. It seems that there's no heinous act that won't be defended - as long as the accused represents the team that you like.

Last month, both Liverpool's Luis Suarez and Chelsea's John Terry were accused of racially abusing opposition players. I think anyone with a core of decency in them would state that these are two racial incidents too many. Suarez has been charged by the FA, while the Terry case is ongoing, as the Metropolitan Police are now leading the investigation.