,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #bhc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,april #b1 #bjai,mr4
 ,espaillat submitted the following     
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on the ,judiciary            
,,resolution  ,condemning racism in     
sports4  ,whereas racism has            
historically influenced the             
infrastructure in major sporting        
industries since its inception1 after   
the #bjaf election there seems to be a  
reemergence of racist rhetoric in       
global1 national1 and local discourse1  
and sports are not immune to this       
troubling trend2 ,whereas the roots of  
racism in sports date back to their     
genesis1 and perhaps no example of      
clearing racial hurdles compares to the 
story of ,jackie ,robinson who was the  
first ,african ,american to break the   
so-called color line to play in         
all-,white ,major ,league ,baseball as a
 member of the ,brooklyn ,dodgers and   
whose sacrifice and perseverance in the 

face of such visceral hate in response  
to his participation is remembered as a 
historic triumph for ,african           
,americans2 ,whereas ,willie ,o',ree    
became the first ,black player in the   
history of the ,national ,hockey ,league
 playing for the ,boston ,bruins1       
earning the mantra as the ,jackie       
,robinson of hockey1 and is still active
 in promoting diversity in the sport2   
,whereas policy enhancements1 such as   
the ,rooney ,rule in the ,national      
,football ,league 7,,nfl71 have         
progressed inclusion and diversity in   
sports leagues and would potentially    
have a significant impact if applied to 
organizations in other industries2      
,whereas accounts of both blatant and   
subtle racism have justifiably captured 
the attention of fans when publicly     
disclosed in years past1 and the recent 
hateful and unapologetic tropes cast by 
public figures1 particularly the        
,president1 have elevated the issue of  
racism in sports to a national          

discussion2 ,whereas the ,university of 
,florida has recorded #eb acts of racism
 in sports in #bjah1 an increase of #aa 
compared to the previous year2 ,whereas 
internationally the number of instances 
of racism in sports more than doubled in
 #bjah compared to the prior year2      
,whereas within the last month the ,utah
 ,jazz1 of the ,national ,basketball    
,association 7,,nba71 levied a lifetime 
ban against a fan who deliberately and  
repeatedly called ,,nba star ,russell   
,westbrook boy leading up to a game in  
,salt ,lake ,city1 ,utah2 ,whereas      
athletes in several sports leagues who  
were initially inspired by ,,nfl player 
,colin ,kaepernick chose to exercise    
their constitutional right by abstaining
 from participating in the national     
anthem to shed light on the killing of  
unarmed ,black men by police officers   
and the widespread injustices that      
minorities still face2 ,whereas         
xenophobic1 misogynistic1 and racist    
rhetoric should not be condoned in any  

circumstance1 a basic value that has    
been ignored by the ,president when he  
aims hateful comments at athletes of    
color in his public comments on the     
internet and at rallies2 ,whereas the   
,president's behavior seems to have had 
a spill-over effect on others who now   
feel enticed to propel racism and hate  
speech in the name of sports rivalries2 
,whereas players like ,russell          
,westbrook have received fines for      
responding to fans' racist1 threatening1
 or antagonistic comments2 ,whereas     
racism has been documented as a         
lingering problem in some locker rooms  
over the years1 and closeted racism has 
recently become an issue at the         
ownership level2 ,whereas ,donald       
,sterling1 who had owned the ,,nba's    
,los ,angeles ,clippers1 was captured on
 tape making denigrating1 racist        
comments about ,african ,americans and  
,,nba legend ,earvin ,magic ,johnson1   
,jr42 ,whereas the media's role in      
advancing racial undertones and         

race-based expectations continues to be 
latent1 such as when ,serena ,williams1 
who is hailed as the best female tennis 
player of all time1 received racially   
charged press coverage for her passion  
and drive described as outbursts1 while 
her ,white colleagues often do not      
receive such criticism for similar      
displays of passion2 ,whereas debate has
 sparked around the ,cleveland ,indians 
and ,washington ,redskins for their use 
of logos viewed as racist1 demeaning1   
and inconsiderate2 ,whereas the         
,washington ,redskins owner has refused 
to entertain the idea of changing the   
name of the team1 while the ,cleveland  
,indians announced the decision to      
remove their controversial team logo    
from all uniforms but continue to sell  
merchandise emblazoned with the logo2   
,whereas the continued success of       
athletes of color over the years has led
 to a series of successes by players1   
including former ,,nfl quarterback ,doug
 ,williams' success winning a ,super    

,bowl1 shattering the construct         
previously subscribed to by ,,nfl       
coaches and scouts1 and diminishing the 
negative1 inaccurate connotations       
previously held against                 
,african-,american quarterbacks2        
,whereas1 during the #bjah ,,fifa ,world
 ,cup1 ,,fifa imposed penalties against 
,russia for its fans' racist behavior   
aimed at ,france's players of color2    
,whereas because the popularity of      
sports has a wide reach that expands    
demographics1 sports have a unique      
potential to steer the conversation     
around discrimination and racism2       
,whereas sports have always been based  
on the principle of a level playing     
field in which achievement is not based 
on race1 ethnicity1 or religion1 but    
simply on a player's ability2 and       
,whereas major sports leagues have      
sought to expand diversity and invest in
 communities of color1 but there is     
still more work to be done around       
altering the public discourse on race   

and racism3 ,now1 therefore1 be it      
,that it is the sense of the ,house of  
,representatives that-- 7#a7 athletes   
have the right to exercise their        
constitutionally protected right to     
freedom of speech2  7#b7 racism in      
sports must be combatted and            
unequivocally condemned2 and  7#c7      
public officials should use their       
platform to encourage diversity in      
sports and highlight role models for    
young members of minority communities4