An Ode On Gestures

In July, the German publication Sport Bild gave Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and TSG Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp their “Gesture of the Year” award for “standing side by side against hate”. Rummenigge and Hopp were standing up against the Bayern ultras who were protesting against Hopp’s for his three-year ban of Borussia Dortmund’s fans from TSG Hoffenheim’s ground. The award was met with widespread ridicule, given that it was made at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, when black footballers around the world were making gestures of a far greater scale and significance. Jonathan Harding, the football writer, broadcaster and author of the brilliant Mensch: Beyond The Cones, addresses this award below in his “Ode on Gestures”.

As two white men smile

And hold their award,

There can be no doubt:

An own goal has been scored.

They said “gesture of the year”

More like symbol of the time:

A world where the image

Means more than the crime.

But hold on a moment:

This goes beyond jokes,

this is about the deafness

of privileged white folks.

This is their reality;

they speak that good game,

use that trending hashtag,

but never take blame.

To them,

black lives don’t matter:

They’d have to be aware

of their suffering first.

Instead they look away,

In their world still submersed.

Though abuse is not wanted -

No sir, not here,

This is about black deaths,

don't give me Shakespeare.

Jadon's undershirt,

Marcus' knee,

Weston's armband,

these gestures are clear;

these are the gestures we hold dear;

these are the gestures of the year.

So hand out your award,

Flash your ignorance wide:

You've shown yourself now,

There's nowhere to hide.

For further listening, Musa and Ryan discussed racism on a previous podcast.