Sportsmen seem to be regularly placing themselves in a bind. This time it is the turn of West Bromwich Albion’s high profile Nicholas Anelka who, after he scored the Baggies’ first goal stretched his right arm and clapped his left hand on his right shoulder — mimicking a controversial gesture known as the quenelle. It is racist in origin and seen as very bad taste. Psychologists say that racist slurring in sport is a mix of frustration and rage on the one side and pure joy of victory on the other. To most of us bad taste is just that…bad taste and a reflection of the adolescent suspicion we have for those who do not look like us. Fear seems to be the key.

The first recorded racist gesture in the modern era was by Adolf Hitler when he refused to shake hands with Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics. Black Power salutes on the podium became the symbol of oppression in 1968 when John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists in protest against unfair treatment.

Much of the racism is still color based, far more than religious. The worst examples are in soccer where African players who have streamed into the European leagues are butts of ugly comments. “Monkeylike’gestures are the most common and last November even FIFA big boss Sepp Blatter admitted his disgust. He said he was “sickened” that supporters of Spanish club Real Betis had racially abused their own player. TV footage showed Betis fans appearing to make racist gestures and noises at defender Paulo, a Brazilian player who is black.

Sometimes, there is a touch of over sensitivity. Commentator David Nixon was fired from his match-day duties by Cricket Australia after he used an Indian accent when announcing the name of England bowler Monty Panesar. If that was the yardstick most of our FM announcers and the ads they put on those stations would be dismissed for mocking accents.

While India’s Harbhajan Singh was cleared of a racist slur against Andrew Symonds in cricket, four Indian fans were arrested for making monkeylike gestures on TV. Like what’s wrong with people? Two years ago a Sunderland fan did much the same thing. And was booted out of the stadium and banned for 18 months during a match against West Brom and the gobbling sounds he made against striker Romelu Lukaku. And a year back a 55-year-old man racially abused Didier Drogba in the FA Cup semifinal.

While sports associations have become very strict about racism it still does raise its ugly head. Often, history kicks in. A study commissioned by the Oneida Indian Nation wants to change the name of the iconic Washington Redskins. It trivializes a peoples and the mascot may actually be harming Native American children and teens.

US commentator Mike Bianchi has a strong argument: Not only should former University of Florida and current Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper be suspended for using an ugly, vile racial slur at a recent Kenny Chesney concert, but so, too, should every other athlete — white or black — who says, texts, tweets, raps or otherwise uses the N-word in a public forum… why doesn’t the league do something about the franchise in the nation’s capital continuing to use the R-word? To Native Americans, “Redskins” is a hateful moniker that should be eradicated from the NFL just like every other ethnic and racial slur. . .

We, as the public, frequently think it does not hurt and that sportspeople should simply rise above it. Here is how Blackpool’s Jason Euell felt after being a victim of nasty abuse. “It did hurt. I felt I had to stand up for all colors and creeds and show that we won’t accept it. I’m proud that I made a stand. It was a shock to hear what came out of the guy’s mouth. Racism in football is not dead and buried but it’s still a shock to hear that kind of thing in close proximity. There were people near the idiot who didn’t agree with it, but there were others who turned a blind eye, which was disappointing.”

Disappointing is putting it mildly. Into 2014 let’s get past the color of prejudice.