Nelson Pickett, who arrived in a racist and homophobic manner, referred to English driver Lewis Hamilton as another reminder of society’s intolerance of acts or speeches that had gone unnoticed or diminished in the past.
At a press conference ahead of the British Grand Prix last week, Hamilton donned an elegant, English-style lunge. Without naming Piquet or F1 manager Bernie Ecclestone, who took on Brazil’s agony, said it was time to stop giving these “old and irrelevant” people the stage.
Hamilton is a stakeholder, as he has been the target of racist and homophobic comments. But he expressed a sentiment that it is not just athletes who are hurt by their colour, origin or religion.
A study published last month by Britain’s YouGov Institute examined global sports fans’ thinking about contemporary values and their expectations of clubs, brands and athletes. According to YouGov, these fans tend to be more aware of issues such as sustainability and social justice than the average population in many countries.
These sentiments apply to the vision of social responsibility of players, teams and sponsors and manufacturers of sports products. The institute called this perception of fans “the crossroads between sport and social justice”.
Diversity and inclusion emerged as the main desire of those following major competitions. Nearly two-thirds of fans (65%) feel diversity should be taken into account at these events. And seven out of 10 want the sport to be more inclusive.
Brazil is not part of the countries surveyed. But our Argentine neighbors are most deficient in diversity, being closer to South Africa and Italy.
equal pay It’s not just the Achilles heel in the corporate world. The pattern of privileged male athletes in terms of pay, sponsorship and rewards is also not pleasant, with 68% of the respondents against the practice. The difference between men and women who think this way is small, only 3 percentage points.
Even for men’s football. On average, 51% of fans believe that players on men’s and women’s World Cup teams should win the same.
Fans also expect sports rights holders – such as media companies – and athletes to get involved in social issues. A look at four countries (Australia, Germany, UK and USA) revealed that all of them saw teams or individual athletes as people who worked harder than actors, musicians or influencers. needed.
Combatting racism in sport is the main reason Australians and Germans favor social justice, while Brits and Americans prefer social justice.
Taking into account what fans think and what they value, it is important for both companies and athletes to make decisions regarding sports sponsorship and marketing or PR work associated with sports.
The study said fans expect professional players to behave like role models and support brands with “ethical messages”.
On the other hand, companies associating themselves with champions in sports with personal reputations destroyed by scandals may send an unwanted message to their consumers.
In this environment, Lewis Hamilton can be considered a model of the longing of fans from people and sports organizations.
And it’s not a despised spectator. YouGov claims that fans of “socially responsible” global sports are more likely than the overall global population to consume all types of media, are more engaged in advertising and sponsorship, and are more likely to prefer those brands. more likely whom they admire for their values.
Read more about the study media talk,
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