By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the Governing Body of World Motor Sport, is actively looking into the wearing by Lewis Hamilton at the Tuscan Grand Prix on 13 September 2020 of a t-shirt with the legend “ARREST THE COPS WHO KILLED BREONA TAYLOR”.
Breona Taylor was a black woman, who was shot by US police in her Louisville, Kentucky, home in March 2020.
Hamilton wore the t-shirt during the pre-race anti-racism demonstration and on the winners’ podium, where he said: “say her name.”
A spokesman for the FIA said that the FIA was a non-political organisation and that the anti-racism t-shirt may have infringed their Regulations.
After the race, a spokesman for Hamilton’s F1 Mercedes Team in answer to a Twitter user who asked Hamilton “to keep politics out of F1” stated:
“We’re not bringing politics into F1; these are human rights issues that we’re trying to highlight and raise aware of.”
This may be an artificial distinction.
Whilst, Human Rights are certainly a legal issue, at the same time, they are also a political one and nowadays it is difficult – if not impossible – to keep politics out of sport.
It will be interesting to see whether Hamilton is sanctioned by the FIA, especially as the FIA and F1 have mounted an anti-racism and pro-diversity campaign this year, which includes anti-racism demonstrations before every race!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.’
Sports Law & Taxation features: articles; comparative surveys; commentaries on topical sports legal and tax issues and documentation.
The unique feature of Sports Law & Taxation is that this Journal combines up-to-date valuable and must-have information on the legal and tax aspects of sport and their interrelationships.
Global Sports Law and Taxation Reports feature: articles; comparative surveys; commentaries on topical sports legal and tax issues and documentation.
The unique feature of Global Sports Law and Taxation Reports is that this Journal combines for the first time up to-date valuable and must-have information on the legal and tax aspects of sport and their interrelationships.
The editors of the Journal Sports Law & Taxation are Professor Ian Blackshaw and Dr Rijkele Betten, with specialist contributions from the world's leading practitioners and academics in the sports law and taxation fields.
Managing editor
Dr. Rijkele Betten
Consulting editor
Prof. Dr. Ian S. Blackshaw
Prof. Guglielmo Maisto
Maisto e Associati, Milano
Mr. Kevin Offer
Hardwick & Morris LLP, London
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