Watching FIFA’s 2026 World Cup is a reminder of the power of sport. At its best, sport can be a unifying force, bringing people from across the world together to celebrate human achievement. While it can sometimes be the orgies of hatred described by George Orwell well after the 1936 Olympics, FIFA has exercised considerable effort to free this year’s World Cup from cultural bias that could tarnish its event.
First, and foremost, it has adjusted how event stadiums are identified for games. Kansas City Stadium is the identifying name for Arrowhead Stadium during the World Cup; with most Kansas City Chief’s branding removed from the stadium. It is in line for FIFA’s marketing standards but for me it makes watching the games played in Kansas City bearable.
Most people do not know that Chief is a slur against Indigenous men in North America used in the same that Boy is used towards Black men in the US. There is an oppressive character to its use. FIFA has managed to keep the focus on the games not the local team. The USGA on the other hand, were not as successful. After seeing the Shinnecock Hills Indian logo during the Rolex hour of the US Championship broadcast, I instantly changed channels.
At KC NFL games, the Tomahawk Chop frequently used at KC NFL games is used to harass Indigenous kids in sport. I knew of one instance in a local sports organization where players taunted an Indigenous kid after he defeated them in a game with a tomahawk chop. The kid did not want to come forward to be abused in the Human Rights process I was involved in on Indigenous mascots vs the City of Mississauga. I had to listen to the local organization testify there was no racism in their league, after I had correspondence stating they were working with the boy’s family and Hockey Canada to resolve the issue privately.
I chose to protect the minor’s privacy whilst those who were in charge with protecting mine were busy determining that other Indigenous could speak for my rights and that the individual human rights system is not ideally suited to deal with Indigenous issues. I only come forward after fatigue from accusations of being an attention seeking liar from within the HRTO and a chance meeting I had with a Cayuga elder, who introduced himself only as Bear, argued he had the right to speak for my rights.
For the Canada’s Charter of Rights to stand, to truly Say No to Racism, there cannot be any citizen of Canada or otherwise whose rights exceed or overrule another’s. It is an embarrassment to Canada’s judicial system that the suggestion was put forward in the 2018 Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Indigenous dialogue report that was support by the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The OHRC’s gaslighting of Indigenous racism is part of Canada’s larger culture of Indigenous racism; a culture far more severe than most people realize. To demonstrate what I mean I would like to give some examples:
- The exclusion stats for Indigenous in Canada exceed those for Black people in the US – murder, incarceration, foster care, poverty, dropout, suicide, etc.
- When Craig Berube was coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I tried to watch a couple of games of Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, but his players kept calling him Chief in 2025 pregame interviews.
- When the CBC did a story on racism in hockey they featured a Mohawk man in a Blackhawks hat.
- While the Greater Toronto Hockey League has banned Indigenous mascots from its league, the Blackhawks are shown on Rogers Sportsnet and the CBC until June. I hope CBC’s decision to end its partnership with Rogers was influenced by the racial discrimination against 5% of Canada’s population.
- When Canada held elections in 2019 all major parties advertised with NFL Washington or KC game broadcasts before the election.
- When the NHL held its BLM moment in the COVID tournament, it did so with the Blackhawks and ignored the six Indigenous people killed by police in Canada in the spring of 2020. No officers were charged, and the Indigenous player in the photo was abused by Edmonton fans after the 2021 playoffs. The Renee Good shooting reminded me of the shooting of Eishia Hudson.
- At the end of PBS’s Finding Your Roots shows, Dr. Gates asks people to come to terms with the consequences of slavery.
- Where slaves’ names were left of census’ to deny their humanity. In Canada, the government magnanimously allowed the use of Indigenous names in 2021.
- Slaves could be killed at any time without consequence. Canada had a national inquiry on Missing and Murdering Indigenous Women and Girls, and police have taken Indigenous men on Starlight Tours to leave them to freeze.
- The children of slaves could be taken from you at anytime and sold as property. In Canada, Residential Schools were closed in 1996 but was rapidly replaced by Forced Foster Care and Birth Alerts.
- After the civil war, according to the NAACP, 3,446 Black people were lynched. In Canada, up to 25,000 kids were killed in Residential Schools and Residential school denial stories mirror the lost cause mythology of slavery.
The gaslighting of Indigenous racism is toxic. Allowing it to exist in mainstream sport normalizes racism against all people and excludes Indigenous from mainstream society. Sport should be a place where people are celebrated for their achievements. Where all have a chance to be recognized for their excellence on the field not for trivial acknowledgement or logos..
FIFA should be applauded for finding away to Say No to Racism without seeking a confrontation. They have constructed an environment where people from all over the world come together and support the excellence of their national teams. The World Cup can be sport at its best, above political or local bias. A welcoming celebration of the achievements of athleticism and strategy.
