Human Rights in International Sports
11 Sep 2020
Author - Daniel Warner
Sports, whether mere individual physical exercise, simple competitive games or national/international competition, have been part of human activity since recorded time. The Olympic Games, after all, began in Ancient Greece. The American theologian Michael Novak wrote that ‘[s]ports is, somehow, a religion’ (Novak, 1976: xi). He added in his description of moments of epiphany in the American sports of baseball, football and basketball that ‘[s]ports are bursts of dust, squeaky wood, infield grass, collisions at second base, an explosive tackle – they are vivid, concrete, swift, and fun’ (Novak, 1976: xvi).
