Sports

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – The United States should investigate and regulate sovereign wealth funds like Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) that have been linked to human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said in testimony today before the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The hearing examined the fund’s substantial holdings in the […]

Propaganda

Saudi Arabia’s Pro League is taking Advantage of Football’s Greed and Inequality

The Conversation

By Alan McDougall, University of Guelph | – (The Conversation) – For Liverpool supporters like me, Jordan Henderson was one of football’s good guys. He was the club captain who fundraised for the UK’s National Health Service during the COVID-19 pandemic and vocally supported Liverpool’s LGBTQ+ community. However, in July 2023, after 12 years at […]

censorship

Is Saudi Arabia using “Sportswashing” to Simply Hide its Human Rights Abuses — Or is there a Bigger Strategy at Play?

The Conversation

By Ben Rich, Curtin University and Leena Adel, Curtin University | – As Saudi Arabia continues to open up internationally, it is yet again in hot water over its human rights record. The current controversy revolves around the kingdom’s increasing presence in the sporting world and accusations of “sportswashing”. In recent years, the Saudis have […]

Sports

Life on the Run: The Angry Sports Star Who Was a Milestone Between Jack Johnson and Brittney Griner

Tomdispatch

By Robert Lipsyte ( Tomdispatch.com) – Jim Brown was a monster, not only as a wrecking-ball running back on the football field but also as a prime example of an ever more popular obsession with people (mostly men) whose admirable achievements are shaded by despicable behavior (mostly directed at women). He died last month at […]

Corruption

How Saudi Arabia came to be at the Centre of a global Golf Merger

The Conversation

By David Rowe, Western Sydney University | – Professional golf – and increasingly world sport – is caught in a sand trap. Not the familiar hazard between fairway and green, but the Middle Eastern desert producing enormous quantities of fossil fuels. The resulting riches are being diverted into sport, disrupting its traditional Western dominance. The […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and Sport: a strategic Gamble aiming for economic, political and social Goals

The Conversation

By Simon Chadwick, SKEMA Business School | – (The Conversation) – Boxing purists may argue over the sporting value of a fight between a reality TV star and a former YouTube prankster. But the commercial value of the massively hyped event in February 2023 was clear for both the contestants (Tommy Fury and Jake Paul […]

Far Right

Saudi-owned LIV Golf “Sportswashes” Rights Abuses

Human Rights Watch

By Leila Saad, Research Assistant | – ( Human Rights Watch ) – Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is attempting to “sportswash” the country’s egregious record of human rights violations through a new global golf tournament that begins later this month. The Saudi-funded LIV Golf’s 2023 tournament will kick off on February 24 in Mexico […]

Health

Football’s One to the Heart: How Safe is the Superbowl for Players?

Tomdispatch

By Robert Lipsyte | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – The echoes still linger from that national sigh of relief last month when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, slammed into cardiac arrest during a game on January 2nd, was declared out of danger. It was a justified sigh. A vibrant young life had been spared. But […]

Arab World

Soccer Champion Lionel Messi’s Black Cloak: a brief History of the Honorary Bisht

The Conversation

By Pardis Mahdavi, The University of Montana | – Shortly before Lionel Messi took to the stage to lift up the World Cup trophy, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani put a black cloak, called a “bisht,” over the Argentinian soccer star’s shoulders. Images of Messi wrapped in black fabric, which might have […]