And as the world turns, so too does another instance of racism toward a black soccer player coming to light.
Former English National team forward Ian Wright went into great detail about why he feels 23-year-old star Raheem Sterling is being targeted by the media. Sterling, the young star of Manchester City and member of the English National team, has faced mountains of criticism as of late. And Wright believes it’s because of racism.
“The football criticism is something every player has to deal with, but what [Raheem] gets I don’t see any other footballer getting,” said Wright on BBC Radio 5 live’s Monday Night Club. “They don’t get that stick because for whatever reason they don’t rub up to the people in the corridors of power the wrong way. I think there is an agenda against him.
“There is an element of people at the high end of the media who want to keep that guy down. Simple. When you look at the wave of criticism that he takes, there is a certain amount of racism towards it – what else can it be?”
Sterling puts Man City on the board
Raheem Sterling cuts inside to score and put Man City up 1-0 on Arsenal.
Apparently, Sterling is the constant target of media vitriol. He reportedly faced criticism for buying his mother a home, for purchasing clothing and for getting a tattoo of a rifle on his leg. He also faced backlash for not performing well in the World Cup.
“They are picking on him because of the background he has come from and they want to keep him down, drag him back down. They don’t want him to continue to be a success.
“People say you are playing the racism card, but you give me a good reason why Raheem Sterling gets the stick he gets for just being a footballer.”
Ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton, also speaking on 5 live, said: “I think the outside stuff did affect his World Cup performances.”
He added: “I don’t understand it because last season for City he really matured into a top player. He was one of the reasons why they were so devastating. There seems to be an element of people in this country who delight in kicking him and I don’t get it.”
