On July 15, 2018, four members of the Russian activist group Pussy Riot ran on the field wearing police outfits during the second half of the FIFA World Cup finals, which was taking place in Russia. Their motivation was to draw attention to the human right abuses in Russia. Olga Pahtusova, Olga Kuracheva, Nika Nikulshina, Peter Verzilov were all jailed for 15 days for their actions.
In response to this incident Pussy Riot released a new song and video, “Track About Good Cop”. The song is Russian, but the video has English subtitles.
The song and video refer to different numbers such as 228 and 282. Article 228 of the criminal code is used to arrest people for drug offences, while 282 is used against extremism.
Concerning extremism, multiple members of Pussy Riot in the past have been arrested because they have been branded extremist as a result of protesting the Russian government. This oppression extends beyond Russia. All around the world there are several political prisoners unjustly imprisoned for speaking out against their government.
Of course there are those that want to enjoy their sports without the politics, but if you are going to protest you need a large enough platform to get your message across. There is no convenient time to protest social injustices. Whether it is taking a knee or running on the field dress like a police officer, protests are not designed to make you comfortable. They are designed to force you to think and talk about uncomfortable subjects that some want to pretend don’t exists.