Adam Dennehey WAFU manager
The recent trial and acquittal of John Terry, proven all-round less than perfect twice former England Captain proved several things to me, which I feel obliged to share.
Firstly, it’s pretty clear to me that the trend set by Steve Coppell and Brian Hall, has not been followed. That is to say that education is not a priority for the modern footballer and for that I blame the Clubs.
These players are discovered as kids, taken away to learn their trade and brought up by teams with the wit and resource to realize that intelligence in play might just come from education. How is it that talented players act like uneducated thugs when they get paid to wear shorts and kick around a ball. These people are the product of our system.
Secondly, the Law seems to think that people in the public eye are held to higher standards than people in the public house. Why? You can find the same uneducated gutter language in every boozer in the UK, yet that’s ok – is it?
Segregated communities demonstrate the racial divide that is accepted in multi cultural Britain. But why?
The tweets of Rio Ferdinand and Arsenal’s Emmaneul Frimpong also show the higher expectation proven by the response they give being considered more important than the original insult they received.
The fact is that racism is as prevalent in life as it is in Sport and high profile, expensive court cases won’t stamp it out.
The source of the problem is societal caused by lack of education.
Both Clubs and Educators need to act to prevent this at all levels. If Refs acted on bad language as they do in Rugby then the game would clean up fast. Why can players say f**k off clearly on TV yet some other offensive words are unacceptable? Is the dividing line as clear as the touch line? I don’t think so.
From bullying in school to racial abuse, the solution is to stamp it out early, educate people, show zero tolerance and minimize/ isolate the offenders.
John Terry will never be a role model, but to make him a martyr wouldn’t have been right either.
This case has done nothing to solve the problem and the Clubs who can solve it would do worse than sign a charter to drive it out at all levels. If Chelsea penalized Terry in his pocket – it would stop. Ditto for players language.
The solution is in the hands of the people who put these players in the public eye and their silence on this issue is the biggest crime of all.
By Steve Burrows CBE @ifollowsteve
This article rightly emphasises the role of education in combatting racism. Racism in football reflects ignorance in society. Whether they like it or not footballers are looked on as role models. They could be used to influence kids in rejecting racism. Some footballers are already involved in organisations such as Show Racism the Red Card and Kick It Out. Others need to follow this example. Otherwise we will soon return to the bad old days of overt racism on the terraces.