Sports Illustrated recently held a panel discussion with seven Muslims working in sports media. Here are some snippets from the (fascinating) panel discussion:
Adnan Virk is the first Muslim anchor to work at ESPN: “There have been trailblazers in other disciplines much more important than me than being the first Muslim sportscaster at ESPN but it is pretty cool when I go to the mosque or when I meet kids and they say, ‘It’s very cool you are on ESPN.’ … But it had never been an issue until recently with unfortunately the rise of Muslim extremists, and then [Donald] Trump and [Ted] Cruz [speaking out]. People will go to me and ask, ‘I wonder what you think about these big issues?’ I think to myself, ‘Can I tweet about it? Can I not tweet about it?'”
Shireen Ahmed is a freelance writer and sports activist: “One of the main reasons I started sports writing (with a focus on Muslim women in sports) was because I was completely fed-up with the tone and angles with which their stories were presented. There is erasure of non-hijab wearing athletes and the histories of Muslim women at international competition levels, outdated tropes about oppression of Muslim women, and even attempts to outlandishly glorify efforts, or insert issues with a broad stroke that would not apply to everyone. A complete lack of nuance was evident. Basically, mainstream media was not quite sure how to cover those stories…. But the reality is that sports media is 90% male and I would add, white, able-bodied and cisgendered. So that’s who has been writing about Muslim women.”
Nabil Karim is an anchor with TSN SportsCentre in Canada: “There are Muslim athletes in all of the major sports around the world that are making an impact. In fact, I bet there are some athletes who people might not know to be Muslim. And, that’s not a bad thing. An athlete’s faith shouldn’t matter whatsoever. However, for Muslims in particular, it’s unavoidable now. The U.S. travel ban has heightened that coverage. It’s become news.”
Habeeba Husain is a contributor for SLAM Magazine: “One of the main stories I covered was about Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, whose whole story focuses on the discrimination she faced for being Muslim. I feel like these types of stories are necessary to shed light on. Once people become aware that others have to overcome huge roadblocks just to do the same things as them, a lot more bridges of empathy and moral support can be constructed. These types of stories are proof that sport intersects politics. Because of sports’ global appeal, a story beyond the box score can really resonate with a large audience and highlight important issues.”
