http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/sto...200705,00.html


Now Atkinson loses Guardian job

Owen Gibson
Thursday April 22, 2004

Football pundit Ron Atkinson has lost his job as a columnist for the Guardian following his racist comments live on air about Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly.

Atkinson resigned last night as a football summariser for ITV Sport after calling Desailly a "fucking lazy thick nigger" on air following his team's defeat at the hands of Monaco in the first leg of the European Champions League semi-final.

Although the comment was not broadcast by ITV in this country it was picked up by a live feed of the programme in the Middle East. The remarks, made when Atkinson believed his microphone had been turned off, instantly caused a furore and he immediately tendered his resignation, which was accepted by ITV Sport.

After reviewing a transcript of the comments from broadcasters in Middle East and speaking to Atkinson, the Guardian today confirmed that links were being severed with him as a football columnist for the paper's sports pages.

"Our contract with Ron Atkinson to write a weekly football column and chalkboard has been terminated with immediate effect by mutual agreement," the Guardian said today in a statement.

The former Manchester United and Aston Villa manager has written a weekly column for the Guardian, as well as providing tactical analysis of the week's big matches, for the last four years.

Atkinson maintained today that he was not a racist, telling Sky News he was "disgusted" with himself for making the comments, which he said were "mutterings" to himself and borne of frustration at Chelsea's poor performance in the second half of the match.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live this morning he offered to make a personal apology to French star Desailly for his "unfortunate" outburst. And he claimed his managerial record for introducing black players, particularly at West Bromwich Albion, proved he was no racist.

He said he hadn't realised what he said until the day after the racist outburst. "I had the shock of my life the next day when I was told," he told Radio 5 Live today.

"To the people I offended, particularly Marcel Desailly, I would apologise for the comments I made," he said. "It was not an intentional comment, but it was an unfortunate one. I did not even know I had said it.

"I have worked with more black players, I would think, than any other manager in the country and I bet none of them has ever heard me say it to them," added the larger than life pundit, who has proved popular with viewers for his idiosyncratic approach to summarising.

But despite praise from black players he has worked with throughout his career, including some of the first black stars of the game that emerged during his tenure at West Brom at a time when overt racism was rife on the terraces, Atkinson has displayed signs of casual racism in the past.

"It was a great time. I think there's more racial prejudice now than there was then, though we used to make them sit on the back of the bus going to away games. We all used to laugh and joke about it. Cyrille [Regis] would say, 'If you don't stop giving me stick I'm going to buy a house next door to you'," he said in a recent interview.

Lord Herman Ouseley, the chairman of anti-racism in football group Kick It Out, said today Atkinson's comments were evidence of the "macho, laddish" culture that was still endemic in football.

"For someone of Ron's stature to have revealed himself in that way reflects how far we've come in tackling racism but also shows how far we've still got to go," Lord Herman told Sky News.

An ITV spokesman said last night the incident was a "regrettable lapse by a respected and experienced broadcaster who has been part of the ITV sports team for many years".

"We do not in any way condone the comments in question, which were not broadcast as part of ITV's coverage, but were made in an off-air conversation after the game.

"We have discussed the situation with Ron Atkinson, who is devastated and very sorry for any offence caused by his comments. He immediately offered his resignation, which we have accepted," he added.

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__________________
The calmest husband makes the stormiest wives
An illiterate king is a crowned ass
Plenty know good ale, but don't know much after that
Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it
Poor trust is dead, bad pay killed him
Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me
Self praise is no praise
A proverb is the child of experience

If we call ourselves 'nigger', should we be annoyed when others do it, afterall whats good for the goose.......

I don't agree with the Black American culture of calling each other nigger but then, that is just my opinion.

As they say in Yoruba land, Alara lo ngbe ara ga. if you don't respect yourself, nobody is going to respect you

__________________
The calmest husband makes the stormiest wives
An illiterate king is a crowned ass
Plenty know good ale, but don't know much after that
Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it
Poor trust is dead, bad pay killed him
Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me
Self praise is no praise
A proverb is the child of experience

Toyin I see you don't get the point here. It okay blacks to call each other niggers, but when a white man do the same, it makes people feel like slaves. This is because black slaves were refer to as niggas in those days. So that why only black people can call each other nigga and not by a white person.

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Oh pls Okestra007! Listen to yourself for a moment, and tell me if what you just said makes any sense whatsoever. It's this same mentality that causes some blacks to arrogantly think they have a monopoly on deciding what's racist and what isn't. Echoing what toyin said, the black man looks stupid and foolish when he calls himself a 'nigger' and then turns around and try to apply/enforce a different standard on the whiteman when he calls him a 'nigger'. What kind of twisted double-standard is that? That sounds like reversed discimination/racism if you ask me, coz all you're basically saying is that, coz someone's skin's white, he/she gets automatically slapped with a gag-order against saying certain words that are perfectly o.k for blacks to say, however demeaning such words may be. Abeg let's stop dis hypocrisy.

Ok Lafem, though it really sounds stupid, but talking on the real side, I think what Okestra said is true. But then, the problem here isn't just the 'nigger' thing, it's the 'f' word used. Read through the content and u'll see when they related to cursing.

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Memory is a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past.

This is not suprising, look here, if you grew up in the States or took American history or see movies that are based on slavery in the States then you just might understand what am saying. Look into any hollywood movies and see any scene where a white person say nigga amongst black and see the reaction of the blacks there. This's exactly how it is in real life. Slavery is the top of this issue, it bring back sad memories and it sound upressing to blacks when nigga is used by a white person. You can call it whatever you wanna call, but you won't understand if you don't know how these people feel or what they've been through.

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May i remind everyone that this particular incident happened in the UK and not the US.
Talk of the wind blowing the butt of the hen wide open!
I bet Atkinson thought he had the free hand to say what a lot of whites do say in private anyway,but unfortunately,the mics were still on.
These kinds of vituperations don't upset me no more though,but the guy did the right thing.
BTW,i'm moving this to the sport forum.

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DS ON YOUTUBE.


The Ultimate
We Are Part And Parcel Of Everything
We Are The Cosmos
We Are Life
We Are Love
We Are All That Is
We Are The Creator Of The Dance,As Well As The Dancer

Lafem, Thank you very much, You have said all I need to say.

Do you know that in England asians call themselves Paki, and their black friends do the same but when a white person does it, it starts a major furore. If you don't want people calling you a dog, don't call yourself MR dog and don't behave like a dog.

__________________
The calmest husband makes the stormiest wives
An illiterate king is a crowned ass
Plenty know good ale, but don't know much after that
Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it
Poor trust is dead, bad pay killed him
Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me
Self praise is no praise
A proverb is the child of experience

Ti oju akata ba lewo, se enu adia lo to si?

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Oke, "ti oju akata ba l'ewo, enu adiye ko lo ye kati gbo", but that does not explain the need to call ourselves 'bitch' and fly off the handle when one who 'does not belong' call us the same thing.

Remember, " eni ti ota ara ile e l'opo, koni rira t'oba do won o". Let Blacks stop the nigger trap by themselves!!!

__________________
Living is not about how much of wealth you acquire, but about how many souls you could touch positively.

Look here, you guys don't get it, and I don't think you will. I can call myself names, I can beat myself, I can do anything I want with myself, but nothing, I mean nothing gives the other person rights to do those things to me.

Black folks just find it offensive when whites call them names, it all has to do with the past. I don't think yall will understand since yall know almost nothing about this past am talking about.

Can't walk on the sidewalk freely, can't eat in the restaurant of your choice, get beat up, get lynched, get call series of horrible names and much more worst things, all just because of the color of your skin. You don't know anything about that, or do you?

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There is also that point that other people will see you as you see yourself.
Why do blacks have to call themselves niggers anyway?What's the point?I don't get it.

__________________
DS ON YOUTUBE.


The Ultimate
We Are Part And Parcel Of Everything
We Are The Cosmos
We Are Life
We Are Love
We Are All That Is
We Are The Creator Of The Dance,As Well As The Dancer

Oga Vince, if ur Mama call u "kid", u no go vex; but if another white woman (maybe close to ur mama age) call u the same kid, I bet even if u don't say anything, u won't take it softly deep in ur mind.

__________________
Memory is a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past.

You'll not understand, even if I tell you. Let's just say, it's a black thingy. You know, the foreign blacks

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Na wah for this una warped thinking oh!!! Your mama calls you 'were' and the woman next door, who knew your mum calls you 'were' all the time now said - "Were, help me fetch water from the stream at Oke-Odo"- and you go mad!!! This defence for calling ourselves nigga beats me, really.

__________________
Living is not about how much of wealth you acquire, but about how many souls you could touch positively.