Lewisham-born Maggie Alphonsi MBE will be a part of the Sports Monitoring Advisory Panel – a panel established by Sporting Equals in an effort to hold publicly-funded sporting bodies to account on their pledges to improve the experience of black communities in the sport and physical activity sector.
The advisory panel is made up of former athletes, coaches, and professionals within the BAME sporting community, and aims to ensure the progress made in addressing racial inequality in sport since George Floyd’s death, continues to remain a top priority going forward.
Other members of the panel include Chris Ramsey, Devon Malcolm, Densign White, Ama Agbeze, Karen Cox, Alexandra Rickham, Fiona May, Harvey Hicks and Rodney Hinds.
The panel was created in part because of the recent racial abuse experienced by athletes on social media such as Premier League stars Marcus Rashford and Reece James, to some of the players of the British Basketball League being targeted with racial and physical attacks near their homes.
‘Diversity, Inclusion, Equality’
The former rugby union player, said: “I am pleased to become a member of the Sports Monitory Panel as I feel it is necessary to hold the publicly funded sport and physical activity organisations accountable to their words.”
Before adding: “There were a flurry of statements in the summer which signalled support for the Black Lives Matter movement, it is my sincere wish that positive actions, outcomes and change is delivered by these organisations in terms of diversity, inclusion and equality for our communities in the UK sport and physical activity sector.”
Objectives
One of the panel’s objectives is to take measures as a control group to check and challenge publicly-financed sport and physical associations about statements made, interventions overseen, and what differences they might have made in addressing racial inequality.
The panel also hopes to ensure the provisions put in place to make sure People of Colour are represented properly in sport – like greater Bame representation in the board rooms of sporting organisations, for example – are properly enhanced. The panel will also be responsible for monitoring the activity of sports organisations very carefully and celebrating the success stories of Bame athletes.
Alphonsi is currently writing an MBA thesis on the issue of the representation of BAME people in leadership roles in rugby to eradicate change.
