(Opinion) I could not feel anything but great pride and excitement watching a live stream of the graduation ceremony in which my grandson, Jacob Russell was handed his hard-earned law school diploma from Fordham University yesterday.
I could not have been more sickened and outraged watching replays of the screaming racial abuse heaped upon Real Madrid’s star, Vinicius Jr. during the club’s match with Valencia Sunday.
And I’m trying to make some sense of the juxtaposition of feelings about these two very different events.
How deliciously enthusiastic the applause for the gowned graduates, an impressive racial and international rainbow mix of students whose wide range of names created a herculean challenge for the announcements from the award presenter.
In important speeches, the graduates had just been urged to use their new power as lawyers to enhance public service and bring about a better world.
There were no racist howls or jeers. There was just the lighthearted excitement graduates and their families obviously felt for one another.
Screaming support for your team needs no apology. Screaming racial insults at the competition or at anyone is unacceptable.
But it still persists, not least among football hooligans, and it is accepted by people too ignorant, prejudiced, or afraid for themselves to stand up against it and be counted. When will league officials have the courage to act?
Faced with continuing racial catcalls, Vinicius Jr. lost his cool (or better, gained the strength that makes him a great competitor) and tried to get the referee to stop the game.
Fist fights broke out on the pitch as well as in the stands. How much of the game-video was seen by the referee before he red-carded Vinicius Jr. out of the game is a matter of some dispute.
Though Real Madrid has filed an official complaint to the Spanish attorney general’s office, this is neither the first time nor, sadly will it be the last when racial abuse will become a weapon in the armory of football fans as it is in so many areas of our lives.
It is admittedly unrealistic to imagine that the worst offenders would be arrested and charged with hate crimes, as suggested. But without some major action, all the good words of clubs and leagues seem to make no difference.
Said Vinicius Jr: sadly but heroically:
“I have a purpose in life, and if I have to suffer more and more so that future generations do not go through similar situations, I am ready and prepared,”
That speech would have been warmly accepted by the proud Fordham graduates and would deliver an unforgettable valedictory.