54 athletes deliver a message of hope | Sports

We are black athletes and coaches. Several of us are well known to the public, others less so. We have been working hard, training hard, and representing Canada around the world, some of us for more than a decade. In the face of the planetary awakening which has recently brought racism at the forefront of public consciousness, we have a message for you, black athletes in the making.

Some of us have experienced it more often or/and more intensely than others. Sometimes, on the other hand, our popularity has sheltered us from discrimination-related incidents. And, in some cases, it was through conversations with lesser known athlete friends that we came to realize our luck. 

Pretending that we have had all the same opportunities as non-black athletes throughout our careers would be a lie. Today still, there remains this implicit societal understanding that because we are black, it will be harder. 

Sponsorship opportunities, for instance, are sometimes harder to come by because of our skin colour, our last name and all the things that make us different. 

As for racist comments, don’t fool yourself, they are still ubiquitous. In the context of our career, these comments may come from opponents or from the audience. But when we leave the sports ground, we stand as citizens for whom the experience of manifestations of everyday racism, both covert and blatant, is a day-to-day reality.

Racism, whether under almost invisible forms or overt ones, is part of our everyday life. Even here in Quebec, in Canada.

That being said, refraining from trying our best to achieve our dreams simply because we didn’t have the same privileges as others would have been a mistake. Though we must acknowledge the specific challenges of our journey and hope that things will be easier for future generations, it is our firm belief that you should not give up before even trying. 

Achieving our dreams requires of us an awareness of where we came from and of what the journey is going to look like. 

But above all, you must believe in yourself, in us. And be proud of who you are.

We must not allow for the biases of a society or some of its members to become the reality. It would be a serious mistake.

Sport has always been full of strong personalities who have embodied success in their own way and regardless of their skin colour, who have personified the will of making it to the top despite a flawed system and its inbred adversity.

So yes, we must continue to insist on the idea that our skin colour should never hinder our ability to succeed.

For a black teenager with dreams of making it as an athlete, a journalist, a medical doctor or manager of a sports team to think that he/she should reassess his/her ambitions before even trying simply because he/she believes that he/she will not be able to fit into a given professional field, is not something that should be normalized.

But how do such ideas make their way into young people’s minds? Very often it is because they don’t see enough people that look like them in their chosen field. 

This is where, as public figures, as role models, we have a role to play. We have to be there and to be vocal. 

The moment they see successful black journalists, top athletes, coaches or researchers, it becomes easier for young black people to realize that anything is achievable. They see someone from their community and that allows them to think that if they did it, if they got there, he/she too can rise up and beat the odds.

Society has evolved. Racism is sometimes less blatant than it could be several decades ago. Sadly, it has in turn become more insidious, more subtle, almost concealed; it is systemic.

In addition to the typical challenge of having to work hard and excel at their sport, minority athletes often carry the pressure of acting as leader figures for their communities; they are not strictly representing themselves. 

This the kind of pressure that makes you think: “If I stumble, if I make a mistake, it might have an impact on the image of my community as a whole.”

It’s a heavy weight to carry.

But this is the kind of pressure that can also compel you to muster an even greater level discipline and to work harder to become a role-model and an agent of change in a world still ridden with intolerable inequalities. This is a role that we carry on our shoulders, consciously or not, a burden non-minority athletes don’t need to worry about.

Our message to you, black athletes and black athletes in the making, is a simple one : believe in yourself. Don’t let society dictate what you can and cannot become. 

To all allies, those who have not experienced this discrimination, we are aware that it is difficult for you to understand our reality. You cannot walk in our shoes, but try to educate yourselves and do not turn a blind eye to the problematic instances of racism that you have witnessed and will be brought to witness. 

We are hoping for a future in which equality can become the norm, a world in which differences will no longer be marginalized.

But first and foremost, we, black athletes, must to take pride in our roots and in who we are. We must continue to fight for change and, most importantly, give ourselves the chance to make it to the top.

Simply because it is better to be the only one to believe in yourself in a system that tells you that you will not be able to accomplish something, than to live in an egalitarian system, but to be the only one not to believe in himself/herself and stop at this barrier before even setting foot on the starting line.

Here is the most recent list of athletes and coaches who signed. Other black athletes who would like to add their signature can reach us at suggestion-sports@radio-canada.ca (Nouvelle fenêtre)

Signed by (in alphabetical order) :

Krystina Alogbo, from Montreal, member of the national water-polo team since 2005

Kwame Ampadu, assistant coach for the Montreal Impact, former player for many European teams

Miranda Ayim, born in Ontario, national basketball team member, represented Canada at the London Olympics Games in 2012 and at the Rio Olympics Games in 2016, played for the WNBA and a few European teams

Clément Bahiya, born in Cameroon, player for the Montreal Impact

Elladj Baldé, born in Moscow, Russia, former national figure skating team member, founder of Skate Global

Jean-Yves Ballou Tabla, born in Ivory Coast, midfielder for the Montreal Impact

André Belotte, originally from Haïti, police officer in Montreal, former member of the Montreal Impact (1993, 1995) and of the Canadian soccer team at the 1987 U16 World Cup, now member of the Brossard Soccer Association’s board

Patrice Bernier, from Montreal, assistant coach for the Montreal Impact, played for the national team, former midfielder for the Montreal Impact in MLS from 2012 to 2017, spokesperson for OMHM, ambassador of the Montreal Games and the Haïti House

Zachary Brault-Guillard, born in Port-au-Prince, Haïti, defenseman for the Montreal Impact

Aaron Brown, from Toronto, 4 x 100 m relay bronze medalist at the Rio Olympic Games, two-time bronze medalist at the same event at the World Championships

Pamphinette Buisa, from Gatineau, national rugby (7) team member, gold medalist at the 2019 Pan American Games and member of the team that placed 3rd on the World Cup for the 2018-2019 season

Hassoun Camara, originally from Noisy-Le-Sac, France, member of the Montreal Impact from 2012 to 2017

Andre De Grasse, from Scarborough, three times Olympic medalist at the Rio Games (100 m, 200 m, 4 x100 m ), four time medalist at the World Championships (2015, 2019)

Danny Desriveaux, from Laval, former slotback for the Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts (CFL), three-time Grey Cup champion

Clément Diop, born in Paris, France, keeper for the Montreal Impact

Luguentz Dort, from Montreal, guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA)

Anthony Duclair, from Pointe-Claire, Ottawa Senators’ forward (NHL)

Rod Fanni, born in Martigues, France, defenseman for the Montreal Impact, played for 15 seasons in Ligue 1

Keesean Ferdinand, born in Montreal, youngest player to join the MLS team (at 16 years old)

Asher Hill, former member of the figure skating national team, certified coach, co-host of That Figure Skating Show on CBC Sports’ Youtube channel

Kimberly Hyacinthe, from Montreal, sprinter, 200 m gold medalist at the 2013 University Games, 4 x 100 m bronze medalist at the 2015 Pan American Games

Farah Jacques, from Montreal, sprinter, member of the 4 x 100 m team that placed 6th at the Rio Olympic Games

Anthony Jackson-Hamel, born in Quebec City, forward for the Montreal Impact

Mathieu Joseph, from Laval, Tampa Bay Lightning’s forward (NHL)

Louis Krieber–Gagnon, from Quebec City, judo (90 kg), World junior champion U18 in 2013, gold medalist at the 2017 Jeux de la francophonie, 1st place at the 2020 Elite National Championships

Miah-Marie Langlois, born in Ontario, member of the national basketball team that played at the Rio Olympic Games

Georges Laraque, from Montreal, former NHL player for more than a decade

Karina Leblanc, born in Atlanta, former goalkeeper for Canada’s national soccer team, Olympic medalist in 2012, Head of Women’s Football – Concacaf, UNICEF Ambassador, Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy

Ben Lungo, from Ottawa, Communications Officer at the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport

Hénoc Muamba, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, linebacker for the Montreal Alouettes (CFL)

Wilfried Nancy, originally from de Toulon, France, assistant coach for the Montreal Impact (MLS)

Kristel Ngarlem, from Montreal, Canadian weightlifting champion (76 kg) and a member of the national team for the last four years

Brian Ofori, from Montreal, professional basketball player in Europe

Orji Okwonkwo, born in Benin City, Nigeria, midfielder for the Montreal Impact

Nelson Ossé, from Montreal, basketball coach and Luguentz Dort’s (NBA) mentor

Hank Palmer, from Montreal, former sprinter, member of the 4 x 100 m team that placed 6th at the Beijing Olympic Games

Jean Pascal, born in Haïti, Laval resident, professional boxer and reigning WBA light-heavyweight champion of the world

Amandine Pierre-Louis, from Montreal, division 1 soccer player in Europe

Romell Quioto, born in Honduras, midfielder for the Montreal Impact, played at the Rio Olympic Games

Kalyna Roberge, former short track speed skater, two-time Olympic silver medalist (Torino, Vancouver), ten-time medalist at the World Championships

Benjamin St-Juste, from Rosemere, defensive back for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (NCAA)

Karine Sergerie, from Sainte-Catherine, silver medalist in taekwondo at the Beijing Olympics and four-time medalist at the World Championships

Tony Sharpe, sprint coach and former sprinter, 4 x 100 m relay bronze medalist at the Los Angeles Olympic Games

Oluseyi Smith, from Ottawa, originally from Nigeria, chair of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission, former sprinter and former bobsleigh athlete, member of the 4 x 100 m relay team at the London Olympic Games, member of Canada’s four-man crew that placed 6th at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games

Bruny Surin, from Montreal, former sprinter, Olympic champion (relay 4 x 100 m) at the Atlanta Games, two-time 100 m silver medalist at the World Championships

Katherine Surin, from Laval, sprinter, 400 m bronze medalist at the Canadian championships, qualified for the 2019 Worlds’ 4 x 400 m relay in Qatar

Tyrell Sutton, from Ohio, running back for the Montreal Alouettes

Tia Thevenin, from Ajax, Ontario, 100 m hurdles specialist, has represented Syracuse University (NCAA)

Victor Wanyama, born in Nairobi, Kenya, midfielder for the Montreal Impact, Kenya national team captain

Tony Washington, from New Orleans, offensive lineman for the Montreal Alouettes, two-time Grey Cup champion

Angela Whyte, from Edmonton, 100 m hurdles specialist, 6th at the Olympic Games in Athens, five-time medalist at the Commonwealth an Pan American Games

Charity Williams, from Toronto, bronze medalist in rugby (7) at the Rio Olympic Games

Peter Worrell, from Pierrefonds, former Florida Panthers’ and Colorado Avalanche’s forward (NHL)

Karifa Yao, born in Montreal, defenseman for the Montreal Impact

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