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TACKLING DISCRIMINATION IN GRASSROOTS SPORTS:
A HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS AND COACHES
Anna Kavoura, Marja Kokkonen, & Mariana Siljamäki
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Department of Sport Sciences
February 2016
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IRIS Handbook: Preventing Discrimination in Grassroots Sports, Study notes of Law
This handbook, an outcome of the IRIS project, aims to raise awareness and provide practical tools for PE teachers and coaches to prevent discrimination in youth sports. It covers various forms of discrimination, including racism, violence, and poor motor skills, and offers strategies for creating inclusive and safe training environments.
What you will learn
- What are the different types of discrimination discussed in the handbook?
- What are the objectives of the IRIS handbook for teachers and coaches?
- What are the consequences of discrimination in sports?
- What strategies are suggested in the handbook for dealing with discriminatory incidents?
- How can PE teachers and coaches prevent discrimination in sports settings?
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TACKLING DISCRIMINATION IN GRASSROOTS SPORTS:
A HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS AND COACHES
Anna Kavoura, Marja Kokkonen, & Mariana Siljamäki
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Department of Sport Sciences
February 2016
Foreword
This handbook for teachers and coaches is an outcome of the project Innovative learning Resources to foster equal participation In grassroots Sports, dealing with discrimination, racism and violence incidents (IRIS). The IRIS project is an ongoing ERASMUS+ initiative that started in January 2015 and aims at developing modern educational material and methodologies that can support the prevention of discrimination in youth sport (for more information visit http://iris-sport.eu/).
Six institutes are involved in the IRIS project: the Regional Center of Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning in Achaia, Region of Western Greece (project coordinator), the Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen (Bulgaria), the University of Jyväskylä (Finland), Oltalom Sport Association (Hungary), the University of Santiago De Compostela (Spain), and the Hellenic Open University (Greece). The authors from the Department of Sport Sciences of the University of Jyväskylä undertook the task of writing up this handbook, and designed the book to meet the following objectives:
- To raise AWARENESS on issues of discrimination in youth sport
- To inform on the CONSEQUENCES of discrimination
- To suggest measures and practices that can be utilised in sport settings to PREVENT discrimination
- To better equip PE teachers and coaches for DEALING WITH discriminatory incidents Following these objectives, we structured the handbook in four main thematic units that we hope will support those who teach sports to children and youth to recognise, prevent, and deal with discrimination and the various forms that it can take, such as racism and violence. In the pages of this book, coaches and PE teachers can find novel didactic approaches for preventing these phenomena, as well as tools for applying and integrating these approaches in everyday school sports activities and training sessions.
Abbreviations
ECHR Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms or Convention on Human Rights
EU European Union
IRIS Innovative learning Resources to foster equal participation In grassroots Sports, dealing with discrimination, racism and violence incidents
LGBTI+ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex (and other)
PE Physical Education
Part 1: Knowledge and Awareness
1.1. What is discrimination? Introducing basic concepts
Discrimination has many faces. It occurs in multiple grounds and can be expressed in many different ways (see Tables 1 & 2). Confusion often rises in conversations about discrimination and its various forms and categories, as these concepts might be defined and understood differently in different contexts and disciplines. For instance, the legal definition and categories of discrimination differ from those of the social sciences (see for example, Panel on Methods for Assessing Discrimination, 2004, p. 39-54). The confusion becomes even greater in the field of sports, where certain contradictions exist (e.g. certain violence and distinctions might be allowed by the rules). To complicate things even further, the feeling of discrimination (feeling as being treated unfavorably compared to others, or feeling threatened, humiliated and/or afraid) is subjective and the existing definitions and laws might fail to account for all the subjective experiences of discrimination. In this chapter we discuss how discrimination is defined and understood by both, social sciences and the European law. Our aim is to raise awareness of discrimination and to assist coaches and PE teachers to recognise critical incidents. Thus, we also provide exemplary manifestations of discrimination from the field of sports.
What do we mean when we speak of discrimination then? According to Gasparini (2010, p.11) 'Etymologically, discrimination means making a distinction. But it is not just any form of differentiation between one individual and another, or between one group and another, which constitutes discrimination. Differentiation becomes "discriminatory" where it is based on illegitimate or illegal criteria. In practice, discrimination involves different treatment of persons who are in comparable situations, on the basis of at least one criterion which is against the law'.
race possess specific characteristic and qualities and some races are superior to others.
expressed non-verbally or in the tone of voice (unintentional discrimination)
Disability discrimination When people with special educational needs are treated less favorably (directly or indirectly) than others.
When the sporting facilities cannot be accessed by people with disabilities. When sport federations (or the state) provide less support (e.g. financial support for traveling to international tournaments) to athletes with disabilities compared to other athletes of the same sport. Discrimination based on religion or belief
When people are treated less favorably because of their religion or beliefs.
When a sporting federation requires all athletes to wear a specific type of sporting clothing/uniform and this clothing cannot be used by some athletes because it is prohibited by their religion (indirect discrimination). Classism Prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviours, systems of policies, and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of the lower class, or vice versa.
When in certain sport clubs (e.g. in golf or in tennis) one has to apply for membership and have certain references (of status and position) in order to get in.
Ageism (also spelled agism)
Discriminating and stereotyping against people based on their age.
When athletes that continue to compete after the ‘proper’ age, receive negative media attention and comments. Lookism Discrimination based on appearance. It refers to the positive stereotypes, prejudice, and preferential treatment given to physically attractive people, or more generally to people whose appearance matches cultural preferences.
When female athletes that fit to the cultural ideals of beauty and femininity receive more (and more positive) media coverage than other female athletes.
Discrimination based on poor motor skills
It refers to the preferential treatment of people that are considered to be physically talented and the less favorable treatment of people that have poor
When a child is avoided by peers and excluded from group sporting activities because of poor motor skills.
motor skills. Linguistic discrimination (also called linguicism and languagism)
Unfair treatment of an individual based solely on their use of language (e.g. accent, size of vocabulary, syntax etc.). It also refers to a preference of a language over another and to ideologies and structures that are used to legitimate unequal division of power and resources between groups on the basis of language.
Prejudices against athletes of an ethnic status that might speak a dialect or have an accent.
Multiple discrimination Discrimination based on multiple grounds
A transgender athlete of color might be discriminated in multiple grounds (e.g. race/skin color and gender identity)
Moreover, in the eyes of the European non-discrimination law, discrimination can be direct or indirect (see European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights & Council of Europe, 2010, p.21-31). Direct discrimination will have occurred when an individual is treated unfavorably by comparison to how others who are in a similar situation have been or would be treated, and the reason for this is a particular characteristic that the person holds, which falls under a protected ground. For example, being refused entry to a sports event, or being excluded from a sport because of skin color, race, or ethnicity is direct discrimination. Such incidents of racial discrimination are also referred as racism. Racism can often take very hostile and violent forms. For example, black-skinned athletes have reported experiences of racial abuse by the audience, in the form of negative comments, monkey noises etc. (see for example, the interview with Lilian Thuram in Gasparini and Talleu's 2010 book, p. 5-8). In grassroots sports, the most common reason for direct discrimination has been found to be the level of motor skills, followed by skin colour and family background (Schwery, McInnis, & Cade, 2013). Children from 11 European countries that participated in this study reported that coaches treat athletes differently, according to their physical skills, with the ones having limited skills receiving unequal treatment.
about them, calling them names or insulting them in degrading and sexually colored way, asking about their gender or sexual orientation in an inappropriate context or making derogatory comments on them at least a few times a year. [..] Over the past year, a coach or a sports instructor had suggested sexual intercourse to five adult participants (3 women, 2 men) of the study'.
Instruction to discriminate refers to situations where there is an expressed preference or encouragement to treat individuals less favorably due to one of the protected grounds. For example, when a coach makes public announcements of a homophobic nature, these announcements might influence the athletes’ attitudes and behavior towards homosexual teammates (or others) and might even lead to hostile and violent actions.
To sum up, the European law sees discrimination as direct, indirect, harassment and instruction to discriminate; and uses the concept of 'protected grounds' to categorise the various discriminatory acts according to the grounds on which these acts have occurred (see European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights & Council of Europe, 2010). However, the social sciences go beyond legal concepts, as there are many forms of discrimination that may not be unlawful, but might still have negative (and even severe) consequences, such as suicide (see for example, Haas et al., 2010). Concepts used by social scientist include individual discrimination versus institutional discrimination (e.g. Haas et al., 2010), intentional discrimination versus unintentional discrimination, subtle versus overt discrimination, disparate treatment discrimination versus disparate impact discrimination, statistical discrimination (e.g. Panel on Methods for Assessing Discrimination, 2004, p. 39-54 & 55-70), internalised discrimination (e.g. Speight, 2007), perceived discrimination (e.g. Almeida, Johnson, Corliss, Molnar, & Azrael, 2009; Borrell, Kiefe, Williams, Diez-Roux, & Gordon-Larsen, 2006), and cumulative (or the cumulative effects of) discrimination (e.g. Huebner, Rebchook, & Kegeles, 2004) (see Table 2).
Table 2. Different types and categories of discrimination
Term (or type of discrimination)
Definition/description Examples
Direct discrimination (or disparate treatment discrimination)
When an individual is treated unfavorably compared to how others who are in a similar situation are treated because of a characteristic that this individual holds
Unequal treatment to women in sport compared to their male counterparts.
Indirect discrimination (or disparate impact discrimination)
When offering the same treatment to people who are in a different situation and this might affect a group defined by a protected ground in a significantly more negative way.
When the rules of a sport association, even though same for every competitor, might have a negative effect to a specific group of people. For example, the rule that a dance pair that wants to compete has to be made up of a man and a woman has a discriminatory effect to people that belong to a sexual minority. Harassment Any form of unwanted contact with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person.
Verbal abuse (e.g. calling someone ‘a fagot’, telling gay jokes), physical attacks, sexual harassment Instruction to discriminate
Expressed preference or encouragement to treat individuals less favorably due to one of the protected grounds.
When a coach makes homophobic or racist comments publicly and these comments might affect the attitudes and behaviour of the athletes against these groups of people. Institutional discrimination
Refers to the unjust and discriminatory mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals by society and its institutions as a whole, through unequal selection or bias, intentional or unintentional.
Lack of sporting facilities for individuals with disabilities. Lack of bathrooms and locker rooms for transgender people.
Individual discrimination This term is used to separate individual discriminatory acts and behaviors from the institutional practices.
When an athlete verbally attacks to (or makes jokes of) another athlete because of her/his skin color, use of language, sexual orientation, physical appearance etc. Internalised discrimination
The internalisation by people of discriminatory attitudes towards members of their own group, including themselves. An
When women athletes accept male superiority in sport and reproduce beliefs such as ‘women by nature are not as good in sport as men are’.
Key points
If you are not sure if an individual has been a victim of discrimination, ask yourself this simple question: Would this person have been treated differently if she/he was of another sex, age, ethnicity etc.? If the answer is yes, then this person has been discriminated against. In the eyes of the law, discrimination can be direct or indirect or in the form of an instruction to discriminate; and it can be manifested in the form of harassment. Discrimination occurs in multiple grounds (e.g. race, gender, age etc.). Racism is one of the many faces of discrimination. Discrimination can be very hostile and can result in violence and abuse. There are many forms of discrimination that might not be against the law, but might still have severe consequences. Discriminatory behavior will escalate if it founds support, even if this support is in the form of silent consent.
1.2. Equality in sport: Introducing basic concepts and European policies
According to Oxford Dictionaries , equality is defined as the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities. Can we all be equal in the world of sport, in which competition (separating the winner from the looser, the strong from the weak, the talented from the average etc.) is a central element? Can the average sport participant (or an athlete with disabilities for example) enjoy the same status, rights, and opportunities with the super talented elite athlete? How can we find the right balance between a good competition and equality for all in sport? These are questions that have puzzled sport philosophers (and people that deal with sport legislation) for a very long time. Sport has the potential to encourage equality, justice, and social inclusion. However, it also reflects the social hierarchies and inequalities that exist in our society. Sport's potential in enhancing social justice and bringing different people, identities, cultures, and nations together, can only became real if specific strategies are directed in achieving these goals (Marivoet, 2014). In this chapter, we introduce the basic concepts that are associated with equality in sport, as well as the main European 'strategies' (public sport policies).
While equality in sport is (or should be) the ultimate objective of the anti-discrimination policies and strategies, as we previously said, by definition the term 'equality' poses major challenges to sport. For example, sport philosophers argue that for equality to be achieved, we would have to give up sex classes in sport (Tännsjö, 2010). Since we have long way to go until equality is really achieved in the field of sports, other key concepts and objectives that are used in institutional level are 'social inclusion in sport' and 'inclusion through sport' (see Marivoet, 2014).
Social inclusion in sport refers to the actual experience of equal opportunities in accessing sport. It is connected to the sport for all ideals (for example sport spaces accessible for individuals with disabilities, sport activities available for migrants etc.).
(regardless of gender, race, age, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation and social or economic background) should have access to sport and the specific needs of underrepresented groups should be addressed. Spaces and sport-related activities should be available (and accessible) to all, including migrants and people with disabilities. Moreover, actions should target at improving access for women and girls at physical education and sport, as well as in management and leadership positions. The Commission calls sport federations to take initiatives to tackle discrimination, and to have procedures in dealing with manifestations of racism and xenophobia (dislike or prejudice against people from other countries), as well as any form of harassment.
Answering the call of the European Commission, as well as of sport equality scholars, this Handbook aims to educate PE teachers and coaches on how to facilitate discrimination- free sporting environments and equal opportunities for all.
Key points Sport's potential in enhancing social justice and bringing different people, identities, cultures, and nations together, can only became real if specific strategies are directed in achieving these goals. Social inclusion in sport and social inclusion through sport are important objectives, in order to make progress towards the ultimate goal, which is equality for all in sport. Anti-discrimination policies and strategies should move beyond tolerance and promote values such as accepting and embracing diversity in and through sport. Sport federations/organisations should take initiatives to tackle discrimination and adopt/develop procedures in dealing with discriminative incidents.
Questions to consider In what kind of situations could our personal choices and preferences constitute discrimination? Is it discrimination when a sports club offers a class only for women in which men are not allowed to participate? What is the difference between tolerance and acceptance? What are the values that should be promoted in anti-discrimination policies/strategies/campaigns? What could (or should) sport organisations/federations do in order to tackle discrimination?
Gasparini, W. (2010). What do we mean when we speak of discrimination in sport? In W. Gasparini & C. Talleu (Eds.), Sport and discrimination in Europe (pp. 11-17). Council of Europe Publishing.
Gasparini, W., & Talleu, C. (Eds.) (2010). Sport and discrimination in Europe. Council of Europe Publishing.
Haas, A. P., Eliason, M., Mays, V. M., Mathy, R. M., Cochran, S. D., D’Augelli, A. R.,…Clayton, P. J. (2010). Suicide and suicide risk in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations: review and recommendations. Journal of Homosexuality, 58 , 10-51.
Huebner, D. M., Rebchook, G. M., & Kegeles, S. M. (2004). Experiences of harassment, discrimination, and physical violence among young gay and bisexual men. American Journal of Public Health, 94 , 1200-1203.
Kokkonen, M. (2014). Discrimination of sexual and gender minorities in sports and exercise. Helsinki: Publications of the National Sports Council. Retrieved from: http://www.liikuntaneuvosto.fi/files/297/Discrimination_kokkonen.pdf
Panel on Methods for Assessing Discrimination (2004). Defining discrimination. In R. M. Blank, M. Dabady, & C. F. Citro, (Eds.), Measuring Racial Discrimination (pp. 39- 54). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Panel on Methods for Assessing Discrimination (2004). Theories of discrimination. In R. M. Blank, M. Dabady, & C. F. Citro, (Eds.), Measuring Racial Discrimination (pp. 55- 70). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Schwery, R., McInnis, H. & Cade, D. (2013) (Eds.) Discrimination in Sport. Comparative Study on Young People in Europe. Retrieved from: http://www.kbs-frb.be
Part 2: The Consequences of Discrimination
2.1 The harmful impact of discrimination on the discriminated individual
Why is it important to treat people fairly and not to discriminate? Of course, as we already discussed in the first chapter of Part 1, discrimination is in many cases illegal and there are strict laws and legal consequences that might be applied to individuals or institutions that discriminate. However, this is not the only reason why we should treat all people fairly. Discrimination (even in the cases that is not against law) has been proved to be associated with very negative effects on the individual that experiences it. These harmful consequences might be psychological, physiological, social, educational, economical, and might have a long lasting and cumulative impact.
This chapter aims to inform PE teachers and coaches on the harmful consequences of discrimination, hoping that this knowledge will motivate them to take action against any form of discrimination. We focus mainly on the physical and psychological impact of discrimination and on the impact on sports and physical activity engagement. Other important consequences of discrimination (such as academic, educational, and economic consequences) are not in the focus of this Handbook. We also highlight the consequences of discrimination in children and youth.
Physical and psychological impact
Discrimination has detrimental effects on the physical and psychological health of the individual that experiences it (and of those who witness it). Studies have shown that perceived discrimination (e.g. feeling treated unjust, feeling excluded, humiliated, or afraid) is associated with elevated health risks. For example, perceived discrimination was found to be associated with poor self-reported physical health (Borrell et al., 2006). People that have experienced discrimination might have physical responses similar to those of post-traumatic stress disorder (Brown, 2015). Research indicates that people belonging to a minority group