Sumit Nagal, India’s highest ranked singles tennis player, world No. 127, said that he watched the video of George Flyod and doesn’t have words to describe it, he can’t watch that video again.
He revealed about the racism which he himself has faced. He travelled the globe due to his professional tennis career. He felt that some countries are worse when it comes to racism. He understands from his experience that how people feel about it. He has often been asked different things and singled out in a group merely because he is darker.
He has been questioned many time, he gets out of the plane in a few countries because of his dark colour. These things have happened to him. He is very, very sure that he will be picked again and again—because he knows this is seen as normal.
“No man or woman should be treated or judged by the colour of their skin. Everyone has a heart, a family, and a human face. I have never treated anyone like that. I don’t like to see my friends or people I know treat anyone differently because of their colour or because they are from a different caste, etc. I hate it, I can’t stand it. This needs to end”, he said.
It’s not surprising to see many sportspersons—even legends—around the world speaking up. Whatever happened to the Floyd was extremely brutual and it should not have happened to him. Nobody needs to be treated like that. He was handcuffed, and he was shouting he could not breathe but some people think that if they have power in their hands, then they are the king of this world and can do whatever they want to do.
This has made people wake up to see the reality and realise if this doesn’t stop today, it will get more dangerous going ahead.
“Sportspersons must be more vocal about such issues. They are celebrities in their countries where people follow them. It will be really sad if they think talking about racism isn’t a good thing. I really hope people speak up because it just isn’t right. I’m not talking about any particular country—I’m talking about racism in the whole world. It’s not only about black or white; it’s about every type of racism”, Nagal added.
“I know some people in India question Indians speaking up on this issue while being silent about problems in the country. I know what they’re talking about. Since the end of last year, we’ve had a lot of issues. But I feel it was very politically motivated. The way they were doing things was very different. It definitely wasn’t right. A lot of things happening in my country are not right as well. But there’s only so much one can do. All I can do is change myself and change those around me. Hopefully we can all then walk on the right path”, he concluded.
Sumit told that he can change himself and others too who are around him. Elite sports stars must be more vocal about such issue and trying to resolve it. He hopes that these incidents should stop and nobody is treated differently because of their colour, they feel free, get the same respect as other human beings.
