Sports' reaction to Queen's death is understandably complicated

This is a column by Shireen Ahmed, who writes opinion for CBC Sports. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

As the United Kingdom continues to mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there has been a constant outpouring of condolence from athletes, sports media personalities and organizations and clubs connected to the long-reigning monarch. She had a noted history of a love of horses and of competition. 

The weekend following her death, all English Premier League matches were cancelled and many other events were quickly ended or postponed, including rugby in England and Scotland, and the Tour of Britain cycling event. 

A historic rendition of God Save the King was sung at the storied Oval cricket pitch in South London as England played South Africa in a series of test matches. 

The English women's cricket team played India and stood for a moment of silence. 

One commenter to that post made reference to the Indian national anthem, which seems simple on the surface, but if one pauses to examine the context, it's a little more complicated. India was a British colony and the amount of brutality and oppression it endured is not only historically chronicled, but ever-present through the remains of colonial legacies that uphold systems of oppression (like shadeism and classism) in the Subcontinent. 

So when athletes remember Her Majesty, what are they permitted to remember under the rules of their respective organization's propriety? 

I am a woman of immigrant experience whose family was displaced from India in 1947 and eventually ended up in Canada. As such, I got used to seeing the Queen's face on currency and in public spaces. But there are a fair share of people from the 32 sovereign states she reigned during the 70 years at the helm of the British royal family who are mourning her deeply. I am not unfamiliar with Commonwealth traditions. But having to not acknowledge the harm that was done and the ways in which those connections were not all rosy is something I am thinking about a lot. 

Society has a tendency to canonize people after they die. But is it honest to do this? Is it fair to the citizens, claimed by the monarchy as "subjects", to not be able to grieve their own way?

Some football clubs in Scotland and Ireland posted very simple messages up on their social media to remind supporters that the matches were cancelled. Some put up her profile to honour her legacy. And some deeply connected to British resistance celebrated her death in a Tallaght stadium in Dublin during a UEFA Conference League match between the Irish Shamrock Rovers and Swedish Djurgårdens IF Fotboll. 

Many took to social media to lambaste the incident, calling it crude and tasteless. 

But why are the feelings of those most brutally affected by the Crown ignored or asked to be put on hold while those unaffected continue to be the main actors in the theatre of her death? 

As the public in England struggles with the worst economy in decades, the costs associated with the Royal family is on the mind of many. 

Still, reactions to the Queen's death have been complicated in the sports world. There has been criticism of racialized athletes who have expressed their condolences.