Olympia: Moster has to go home because of racism and that’s a good thing

Even small children learn that fairness and respect are important virtues in sport. That they are often not implemented and that racist and other discriminatory statements are frequent is something that non-white people usually learn as young children. Especially in small sports clubs, away from the big stages, such remarks are sometimes lost.

On Wednesday, the German cycling official Patrick Moster caused a scandal during the time trial at the Olympic Games with a racist comment on the Eritrean Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier and the Algerian Azzedine Lagab. Because Moster doesn’t work for a local club, but for the Association of German Racing Drivers, he now has to pack his things despite an apology and leave the Olympic Games early. And that’s right.

Even if the demand for consequences for racist behavior sounds obvious to many and some even consider the reaction of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) to be too lax: Such consequences are not so common that we can call them normal. This is also due to the fact that statements like those of the 54-year-old functionary Moster are part of everyday life in many areas of our society.

This is also made clear by some comments about the incident at the bike race: Although there were immediate clear reactions from the German cyclist Nikias Arndt to the DOSB to the commentator Florian Naß, some people soon rushed to the social media who relativized or even defended Moster’s behavior . When emotions boil up, as happens at an Olympic competition, so the tenor goes, then things like that happen in the affect. It went stupid, it happens, you didn’t feel like that, it was definitely not meant like that, let’s enjoy the sport again.

The behavior has a name – it’s called racism

Now it is actually true that when people are under stress, anger, and fear, the first thing they do is attack another person’s looks. This often includes origin, gender, but also weight or supposedly negative body characteristics. It’s the simplest, the most obvious. Alone: ​​These behaviors come from attitudes, and these attitudes have names. They are called racism, sexism, hostility for the disabled, hostility to fat. And none of them are acceptable.

They hurt people emotionally and physically. They marginalize, they hurt, whether intentionally or unintentionally. They make people bad, they show: I belong to a better group of people than you, you are different from us, and we don’t want people like you with us. And even if there is still a long way to go from a racist statement like Moster’s to incendiary devices on refugee shelters or deaths like that of Oury Jalloh – who burned to death in a Dessau police cell under unexplained circumstances – you have to be very clear: These attitudes can kill.

Racism is not always obvious to those not affected

If people defend Patrick Moster anyway, it certainly does not automatically mean that they approve of emotional or physical racist violence. But at least it shows that they may not have really dealt with it before.

Maybe they didn’t have to. Maybe they didn’t want it. Perhaps it is normal for them to comment on the Turkish player while watching football. Perhaps they mistakenly think that racism is only racism if a right-wing extremist shoots people in Hanau or if you maliciously say the N-word to a black person. Perhaps Patrick Moster even thinks that way himself.

The fact that he is now being sent home for his statement is therefore a good sign. It shows that such behavior is unacceptable and can have consequences, and that racism is clearly identified as such. It shows that it is not normal or tolerable in any context to express oneself in this way. Not even if you think nobody is listening to you. It shows that you have made yourself part of a group with a behavior that does not treat people with respect. And we don’t want such behavior with us. Neither at the Olympics nor at the local club.