Political protests during sporting events are now just part of the game.
The fans are changing their behavior in light of this new reality.
And an on-field political protest was met with one surprising fan reaction.
Over the weekend, the English National Football team played a friendly against Romania as part of a warm up for the 2022 European Football Championship.
Before the game, English players took a knee in tribute to Black Lives Matter.
Fans in attendance reacted by booing the political protest intruding into a sporting event.
After the game, English team manager Gareth Southgate ripped the fans for booing the pro-Black Lives Matter demonstration.
“We accept there might be an adverse reaction and we’re just going to ignore that and move forward,” Southgate told reporters.
Southgate added the fans could expect more kneeling and that the players would not answer any more questions about it.
“I think the players are sick of talking about the consequences of should they, shouldn’t they. They’ve had enough really. As far as I’m concerned they are not going to take more questions on this through the tournament. If it happens, it happens. They’re very clear. Their voices have been heard loud and clear,” Southgate continued.
The Black Lives Matter protests are not popular with fans.
In the first game of the 2020 NFL seasons fans booed the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans for paying homage to Black Lives Matter before the game.
Fans watch sports and attend games to get away from politics.
When politics intrudes into the world of sports, a sizable portion of the fan base will make it clear that they find this unacceptable.
Sports with Balls will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
