Martin Luther King III posted an image of Darcy holding a protest sign. It’s one of many efforts by black female athletes to change the conversation around racism and prejudice.
Darcy Bourne is an 18-year-old professional hockey player for the Great Britain Elite Development Programme. She went viral in early July when she was photographed during the London Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
An image of her holding a protest sign was tweeted by Martin Luther King III and retweeted by top tier black sports figures including Lewis Hamilton, as well as British Vogue editor Edward Enninful. It was a poignant example of the many black sportswomen who are vocalising an urgency for change, not just in the sports industry but also across wider entertainment and public services. The photographer, Missan Harriman, has also since become the first black cover photographer for Vogue with its September 2020 issue featuring Marcus Rashford.
Speaking to The Telegraph Sport, Bourne said she was honoured to have her image shared by so many high profile people. ‘At that point I realised how I’m having an effect on the whole movement, which is amazing really’. Bourne is one of very few black athletes in professional hockey, a sport that is mostly white both on the field and within its governing bodies. ‘You look up to people who look similar to you. In hockey I didn’t have that.’
There are countless more examples of black athletes voicing their frustration throughout sport. Naomi Osaka is the highest-paid female athlete in the world and was one of the first to post a long, heartfelt message following George Floyd’s death on Instagram. 16 year old Coco Guaff gave Roger Federer a list of practical ways to help the Black Lives Matter movement. 39 black South African sportswomen signed a public statement in support for racial activism in July. English footballer Nikita Parris wrote an open letter apologising to another player for a racial row in June. The list goes on.
The sport industry clearly has a systematic racial bias – it’s not just hockey where the board of directors are almost all white. The female US football team is nearly entirely white. TV coverage of the NFL on US television is disproportionately white, despite over 70% of NFL players being black. English football commentary was found to be racially biased in a study by Danish research firm RunRepeat in late June. White players were more often praised for intelligence, while physical skills were more commonly associated with black players.
This obvious favouritism is an issue that needs to be addressed, especially in a year where our societal norms are being rightfully challenged as a direct result of police brutality and violent acts of racism. Voices such as Darcy Bourne and many others are helping to pressure sporting bodies and institutions to diversify their teams and staff members for good.
We’ve still got a long way to go, but black athletes are leading the charge to change an industry that’s in dire need of a shakeup.
I’m Charlie (He/Him), Deputy Editor and Senior Writer at Thred. I was previously the Editor full time at Thred before moving to Bristol in 2024. As a music and gaming enthusiast, I’m a nerd for pop culture. You can find me curating playlists, designing article headline images, and sipping cider on a Thursday. Follow me on LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.
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