Hamilton: I suffered racist beatings
F1 champion reveals extent of his bullying as a child Ighalo and Joshua join the chorus as NFL admits error
Lewis Hamilton has revealed he was beaten up for being black as the shock waves caused by the alleged murder of George Floyd continued to reverberate through sport yesterday.
Some of Britain’s biggest sports stars united in condemning racism following the wave of outrage and protests after Floyd’s death in the United States as:
Hamilton laid bare the true scale of the racist bullying he had endured, disclosing he had been forced to take up karate to defend himself.
Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo warned he was ready to walk off the pitch if abused again over the colour of his skin.
Anthony Joshua joined a Black Lives Matter protest to condemn the “senseless, unlawful killing” of Floyd and others.
The commissioner of America’s National Football League admitted he had been wrong to stop players protesting against police brutality.
Hamilton continued to demand change in another deeply personal – and revelatory – post on Instagram in relation to the alleged murder of Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white policeman knelt on his neck.
Having already condemned Formula One for its silence, as well as saying he was “completely overcome with rage at the sight of such blatant disregard for the lives of our people”, Britain’s sixtime world champion wrote: “I’ve been reading every day to try to stay on top of everything that’s been happening in our fight against racism and it’s brought back so many painful memories from my childhood. Vivid memories of the challenges I faced when I was a kid, as I’m sure many of you who have experienced racism or some sort of discrimination have faced.
“I have spoken so little about my personal experiences because I was taught to keep it in. Don’t show weakness, kill them with love and beat them on the track.
“But when I was away from the track, I was bullied, beaten and the only way I could fight this was to learn to defend myself, so I went to karate. The negative psychological effects cannot be measured. This is why I drive the way I do, it is far deeper than just doing a sport, I’m still fighting.”
The post was accompanied by a clip from a documentary in which a schoolboy Hamilton spoke about being racially abused.
Celebrities, including Rio Ferdinand, praised Hamilton’s intervention, with David Beckham dubbing the 35-year-old an inspiration.
A current United player also called for “justice to be done” following the death of Floyd, with on-loan striker Ighalo revealing he had been racially abused by an opponent while playing in China. He told Sky Sports News: “If it happens to me, I would report it to the referee. But, if they don’t take action I’m going to walk off because it should not be done to anyone.”
Heavyweight world champion Joshua (right) became the latest sportsman to join a Black Lives Matter march, addressing fellow protesters in his hometown of Watford and sporting a hoodie with the name of the movement on it. He said: “We can no longer sit back and remain silent on the senseless, unlawful killing, sly racism, of another human being based only on, what, their skin colour. We need to speak out in peaceful demonstrations, like today.”
Joshua wore a leg brace on the march, at one stage walking with crutches, following what his camp described as a “slight twinge” in his knee during training. Stressing the brace was a precaution, a spokesman added: “It will be further checked by his doctors but there is no immediate concern.” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell tried to undo the damage caused by his previous stance on Black Lives Matter protests at games by posting a video in which he said: “We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”
But Goodell faced a backlash after failing to mention Colin Kaepernick in his apology, despite the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback’s treatment by the league for kneeling before games during the national anthem in protest at police brutality.