‘An elderly lady once called me "coloured". I wasn't offended. I knew it wasn't mean-spirited so I assumed she was just sheltered from society, so hadn't been exposed to the fact that it's offensive or why. But unlike Greg Clarke, she wasn't the head of the Football Association.’
This tweet, by political activist Femi Oluwole, underpins a chorus of commentary about the abhorrent comments made by now-resigned FA chairman Greg Clarke on Tuesday. The football administrator made a barrage of generalisations about BAME, female and gay football players when talking to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee via video link. Somewhat ironically, the point of his talk was to tackle racist abuse against players on social media.
Referring to Black footballers as ‘coloured’, he described being gay as a ‘life choice’ and said that while Afro-Caribbean footballers are over-represented on the pitch compared to South Asian footballers, ‘if you go to the IT department of the FA, there’s a lot more South Asians than there are Afro-Caribbean’s [because] they have different career interests’.
He also perpetuated sexist stereotypes about female footballers, generalising all young girls by saying that they don’t like having the ball kicked at them hard when in goal.
‘It’s staggeringly inappropriate,’ Sanjay Bhandari, executive chair of anti-racism charity Kick It Out said. ‘If it were one comment you might be able to forgive that as a slip of the tongue but it wasn’t it was three or four comments, all of them completely inappropriate and really a litany of absurd stereotypes’.
Clarke has since released a statement announcing his resignation as FA chairman and referring to his words as ‘unacceptable’. Despite not providing an explanation for his outdated attitudes in the statement, when asked to apologise for using the term ‘coloured’ by MP Kevin Brennan during the committee talk, he said: ‘I am a product of having worked overseas, I worked in the USA for many years where I was required to use the term “people of colour” and sometimes… I trip over my words.’
It’s an excuse many have used online to defend his behaviour, despite the fact he recounted more than one offensive generalisation during the video link. But, just as Femi Oluwole points out, Clarke should be held to a much higher standard than the average older person who may not have an apt understanding of political correctness.
As the chairman of such a powerful organisation, there should be no place for not just ignorance, but complacency of tackling such ignorance. And that’s something we should all be bringing into our own lives too.
Having the difficult conversation is integral.
As we’ve seen from the reaction of white Gen-Z'ers and millennials online during the latest US election, encountering ignorant attitudes from family members who generate similar stereotypes around the dinner table at Christmas is not uncommon. Much like it was the job of white people to attempt to educate their racist, ignorant or uneducated friends and family about Black Lives Matter over the summer, we should be taking that allyship into every conversation with those that hold similar views to Clarke.
The reaction to his comments, in that he has been forced to hold himself accountable by resigning, tells of an important lesson: ignorance is no longer an excuse for the most powerful. And while some may be able to forgive a slip of the tongue, when it comes to, as Bhandari says, a ‘litany of stereotypes’ like this, having the difficult conversation with that dodgy uncle that spouts eye-widening insults across the dinner table is integral – for white people specifically.
If Clarke’s resignation helps the older generation, or the ignorant, understand there are consequences for their words and actions, we should all be building on that in our own lives.
Anti-racism causes to support in the UK and US...
Charities To Support - Grazia
1 of 23Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust
Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust works with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds aged 13 to 30 to inspire and enable them to succeed in the career of their choice
2 of 23Peace and Healing for Darnella Fund
Darnella Frazier, the brave young woman who filmed the murder of George Floyd, deserves peace and healing. In addition to the trauma of watching a black man be murdered by police, she has had to deal with trolls, bullies and ignorant people harassing her online. This fund is to support the healing and the restoration of hope for Darnella Frazier —whatever that means to her.
3 of 23Justice for Jacob Blake Fund
Set up by Blake's mother, this fund will cover his medical expenses, mental and grief counseling for his family and to assist them in the days to come, as they continue to seek justice for Jacob. A portion of these proceeds will also be used to benefit his six children.
4 of 23Milwaukee Freedom Fund
MFF was started by Black and Brown Milwaukee organizers to support residents' right to protest for justice. Donations help support their work helping protesters and community mutual aid and start a locally controlled and operated Milwaukee Bail Out Fund that is part of the National Bail Out Network. Through this work they will build on ongoing bail abolition efforts, support immigration efforts, work towards Black and Brown Liberation and support Black and Brown young people as they build a new world.
5 of 23George Floyd Memorial Fund
This fund covers his funeral and burial expenses, mental and grief counseling for the family, lodging and travel for all court proceedings and to assist the family in the days to come as they continue to seek justice for George. A portion of these funds will also go to the Estate of George Floyd for the benefit and care of his children and their educational fund.
6 of 23Minnesota Freedom Fund
The MFF is working with the US National Lawyers Guild and Legal Rights Center to help bails that are set for protestors.
7 of 23Prison Reform Trust
Prison Reform Trust works to make the prison system in the UK just, humane and effective.
8 of 23Joint Council For The Welfare Of Immigrants
The JCWI aims to create a world in which immigration law and policy are based on sound evidence, promote the rule of law and are underpinned by respect for human rights and human dignity
9 of 23Access UK
Helps reduce BME youth unemployment, provide employment and training solutions for youth offenders and implement anti-gang initiatives in the community.
10 of 23Charity So White
Tackles institutional racism in the charity sector.
11 of 23Black Thrive
Black Thrive works to reduce the inequality and injustices experienced by Black people in mental health services.
12 of 23The Ubele Initiative
Supports the African diaspora community.
13 of 23Women In Prison
Supports women affected by the criminal justice system and campaigns to end the harm of prison to women, their families and our communities.
14 of 23Race On The Agenda (ROTA)
Race On The Agenda (ROTA) is a social policy research organisation focusing on issues that impact BAME communities.
15 of 23Show Racism The Red Card
Provides educational workshops, training sessions, multimedia packages, and a whole host of other resources, all with the purpose of tackling racism in society.
16 of 23The Equality Trust
Works to improve the quality of life in the UK by reducing economic and social inequality.
17 of 23Stop Hate UK
A service for victims of racial harassment aiming to end hate crimes in the UK.
18 of 23Runnymede
Generates intelligence to challenge race inequality in Britain through research, network building, leading debate, and policy engagement.
19 of 23National Bail Out
This US charity is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers and activists building a community-based movement to support our folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration.
20 of 23Black Lives Matter
This US organisation (for which there is a UK movement here) fights to end state-sanctioned violence, liberate Black people, and end white supremacy forever.
21 of 23BEAM
BEAM is a US training, movement building and grant making organization dedicated to the healing, wellness and liberation of Black and marginalized communities.
22 of 23Ahmaud Arbery Memorial Fund
Ahmaud Arbery was chased and gunned down by Travis McMichael, son of retired Brunswick investigator Greg McMichael, under the father's and son's pretenses of witnessing a burglary in Satilla Shores of Glynn County. There is no evidence of the alleged burglary.
23 of 23Belly Mujinga Memorial Fund
For the memorial of Belly Mujinga, the railway worker who was spat at before she died of Covid-19.