Last weekend, racist fans targeted Black English soccer players after missed penalty kicks in the Euro 2020 final. This weekend they went after F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton won his eighth British Grand Prix over the weekend, but his victory was marred by controversy.
The race was tight from the start, with Hamilton furiously trying to pass his rival, Max Verstappen. As they entered a turn early in the race, Hamilton’s front-left wheel hit Verstappen’s back-right tire. The Red Bull driver spun out into the gravel and crashed into the barrier. He was taken to the hospital but was in good condition.
The seven-time champion was hit with a 10-second penalty for his actions. But he fought back and ultimately won the race. Afterwards, he tweeted his concern for his fellow competitor.
That’s when the racists came pouring out on social media, targeting Hamilton over the incident with Verstappen.
In response, social media platforms quickly scrubbed the racist comments from his pages and other accounts. Facebook, which owns Instagram, called the abuse “unacceptable.”
“In addition to our work to remove comments and accounts that repeatedly break our rules, there are safety features available, including Comment Filters and Message Controls, which can mean no one has to see this type of abuse,” said a Facebook rep to CNN Sport. “No single thing will fix this challenge overnight but we’re committed to the work to keep our community safe from abuse.”
Twitter echoed these sentiments.
“We have clear abusive behaviour and hateful conduct policies in place and we take enforcement of these policies very seriously,” said a Twitter spokesman to CNN Sport. “We will take decisive and swift action on any account that breaks our rules.”
FIA, the sport’s governing body, Formula 1, and Hamilton’s team Mercedes issued a joint statement about the abuse as well.
“Formula 1, The FIA and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms. These people have no place in our sport and we urge that those responsible should be held accountable for their actions. Formula 1, the FIA, the drivers and the teams are working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport, and such unacceptable instances of online abuse must be highlighted and eliminated.”
This is the second wave of ignorance directed at Black English athletes. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka, Black players on the English national team were victims of racial abuse after they missed penalty kicks that resulted in Italy winning the Euro 2020 final.
Rashford’s mural was even defaced with racist language.
These actions exemplify why Hamilton has been unabashed in his fight against racism and his pursuit of social justice. He’s an adamant supporter of Black Lives Matter and joined the social media blackout held by teams, sports organizations and players in May in support of the fight against racism across social media.
After his victory, Lewis Hamilton trails Max Verstappen by only eight points on the F1 leaderboard, so fans should expect upcoming races to be more heavily monitored and scrutinized.
And expect Hamilton’s social media accounts to be watched just as closely.
