The United Nations' human rights office has condemned the racist abuse aimed at tennis star Coco Gauff after her China Open loss to Belgium's Elise Mertens — and called for collective solidarity to push back against racism and sexism.
Gauff, one of the most scrutinized young athletes alive, lost a tennis match on Wednesday. By the weekend, the abuse had escalated badly enough for the UN to step in. Social platforms amplify what used to stay in the stands.
Ask any young Black athlete coming up through Scarborough or Etobicoke clubs: the talent gets cheered, the person gets tested. Gauff answering hate with composure while still performing at the top of the world game is the exact resilience coaches preach here.
Racism in sport isn't a tennis problem or a hockey problem — it's a mirror problem. The UN naming it is the bare minimum; the work belongs to all of us.
Sources: CBC News. Context from the Young Hadene newsroom.
She faced a wave of racist abuse online after losing to Elise Mertens at the China Open in Beijing.
The UN human rights office, urging solidarity against racism and sexism.