Ajax takes a stand against social hate with unique shirt design
The atmosphere at the Johan Cruyff ArenA is typically as iconic as the very man it’s named after. Even with this season’s run of poor form, many loyal fans consistently reflect outwards why Ajax are one of the biggest football establishments on the continent.
With de Godenzonen too, there is a refreshing recognition of this from within, and just how the club can use their resources to affect positive change. Contrasting the often rocking atmosphere in Amsterdam, Ajax are utilising the ellipsis in a new shirt initiative to combat online hate.
In upcoming fixtures, the club from the Dutch capital will replace players’ names with the three dots – in theory showing that no one is alone in fighting online hate. Humans are unified and generalised in place of names, perhaps demonstrating how online hate can transcend boundaries in a mainstream space. The club’s research shows that while the majority of Dutch people are offended by social hate messages, only a small percentage take action to report them. This normalisation of hate speech is what Ajax hopes to combat.
The last available numbers from 2021-2022 via Statistics Netherlands, demonstrate that nearly 240,000 people experienced some sort of online hate or bullying in 2021. With those numbers having inevitably risen in the following two years, Ajax have picked a poignant time to tackle this issue and look to use #SilenceSocialHate on social media to spread the word.
Ajax forward Brian Brobbey gave his brief thoughts on the campaign: “Social hate will continue for as long as we allow it to. Don’t ignore it, report it.”
