Did you see it last night? It showed Ron redfaced ( through embarrasment - not champagne ) admitting that he was abit of a prat for saying what he said about Marcel Desailly.

I personally think he didn't actually mean what he said, it was in the heat of the moment but it was the complete stupidity of the man to use the one horrendous word that is just unacceptable in todays world.

I know he brought black players more into the game throughout the racist 70's when banana's used to be thrown onto pitches without anyone batting an eyelid.

The weird thing was in Alabama in the U.S when black students were telling him it was ok for them to say the word n****r and not him because it was spelt different! :confused:

He has done a stupid thing, he knows it and has apologised profusely, do you think he should be allowed back into his job?

I can understand why he had to be sacked at the time, but I don't think he should stay out of work for too long. I think the amount of good he has done over the years to combat racism far outweighs any damage he has done by his stupid mistake. Probably the only damage done has been to his reputation.

I don't think he's racist, purely because of what he did for black footballers in the 70's, and the anti-racism stuff he has done throughout his career since.
I just think he's a bit ignorant, and is from the age where he thinks it's ok to say that kind of stuff.

Originally posted by Lestat


The weird thing was in Alabama in the U.S when black students were telling him it was ok for them to say the word n****r and not him because it was spelt different! :confused:






If that was me there instead of him,I would have stayed there untill this was explained to me.Why should she be able to say the 'n' word and not me?

That was 10 times more of a racist comment than the silly slip of the tongue that Big Fat Ron said.

Originally posted by uncleheed
If that was me there instead of him,I would have stayed there untill this was explained to me.Why should she be able to say the 'n' word and not me?

That was 10 times more of a racist comment than the silly slip of the tongue that Big Fat Ron said.

Its completey different. If one of my friends called me a Manor Scroat then thats fine - if however, someone I didnt know said it it would be a totally different story. Like the girl in the programme said, they have taken control of a offensive, oppresive, word and turned it into something 'postive'. It doesnt mean its OK for a white person to use it - its about history.

Having said that I'm sure Big Ron isnt a Racist, more like an ignorant prat and I do feel for him. I wouldnt worry too much if he didnt commentate again - he was crap anyway:D

Just as a sidenote - I thought Darcus Howe came across as a complete tool. I understand the struggle he must have been through and the prejudice he has experienced but he spoke like someone who was more Right wing than the Racists he quite rightly hates.

Mat:)

Originally posted by uncleheed
If that was me there instead of him,I would have stayed there untill this was explained to me.Why should she be able to say the 'n' word and not me?

That was 10 times more of a racist comment than the silly slip of the tongue that Big Fat Ron said.

You know what Americans are like!:loopy: :loopy: not the brightest people, I think what she meant to say was that it was said in the wrong context.
Ron said it in anger - whereas they say it as friendly / joking / welcoming cool-slang!? "wassup my n*****" which still doesn't explain it to me either because it's still the most disgusting racist word to ever exist.

Originally posted by Lestat
You know what Americans are like!:loopy: :loopy: not the brightest people, I think what she meant to say was that it was said in the wrong context.
Ron said it in anger - whereas they say it as friendly / joking / welcoming cool-slang!? "wassup my n*****" which still doesn't explain it to me either because it's still the most disgusting racist word to ever exist.

Is it not racist for you to say Americans are not the brightest people? Branding them with all the same stick? Racism takes many forms. At the end of the day all anti racism people are doing is slowly eroding away free speech. The most intelligent people on the programme were the old people at the end sticking up for Big Ron. The bloke from the commission for racial equality didn't have a thing to say back to them 'cos he knew they were all right.

Where does racism stop? Its alright for left wing militants like searchlight or the anti nazi league to go on marches against things like the war in Iraq or the BNP, but does that not make them racist themselves? The stop the war coalition are always marching against America, calling them all the names under the sun, does that not make them racist against America?

Theres alot of hypocrisy and two facedism to me in the left wing movement. I'm not a racist 'cos I see racism in all its forms all around me every day. What gives someone the right to decide whats racist and whats not and in the process discriminate against someone for having certain thoughts or feelings. It doesn't make sense to me.

Originally posted by bigrods
I don't think he's racist, purely because of what he did for black footballers in the 70's, and the anti-racism stuff he has done throughout his career since.
I just think he's a bit ignorant, and is from the age where he thinks it's ok to say that kind of stuff. It struck me during this program that he HAS done a lot for black players, but it started coming across as being a similar scenario to women of a certain age volounteering for charity work. They do a lot of good, but there's an underlying 'I'm better than you'ness about some of them.

Ron doesn't seem to be an aggressive racist. He just believes black people are a sub class. NOW THAT'S FAR MORE WORRYING!

Originally posted by nez75
Is it not racist for you to say Americans are not the brightest people? Branding them with all the same stick? Racism takes many forms. At the end of the day all anti racism people are doing is slowly eroding away free speech. The most intelligent people on the programme were the old people at the end sticking up for Big Ron. The bloke from the commission for racial equality didn't have a thing to say back to them 'cos he knew they were all right.

Free speech is all well and good, but why should anyone be allowed to spout rubbish that will incite a load of thickheads to carry out violent acts based on race hate? The law already prohibits us from making libellous and slanderous comments, and then of course there's the issue of subjudice. All essential if we want to live in a civilised country. (In any case, we've never had true free speech in this country, as we've never had a written constitution.)


Where does racism stop? Its alright for left wing militants like searchlight or the anti nazi league to go on marches against things like the war in Iraq or the BNP, but does that not make them racist themselves? The stop the war coalition are always marching against America, calling them all the names under the sun, does that not make them racist against America?

The BNP is a racist party under any definition, though I'm not sure what logic is in play when labelling anti-racist organisations as being racist themselves (no matter how loathsome, sadly, many of their members happen to be).

I agree that a lot of the anti-American sentiment is unthinking and stupid, and that there is a lot of hypocrisy around within elements of the left-wing movement. But criticism of America's foreign policy is definitely fair game.

Originally posted by nez75

The stop the war coalition are always marching against America, calling them all the names under the sun, does that not make them racist against America?



I think you'll find theyre marching against US foreign policy and their political actions…..not the US as a whole.

Big Ron was a prat. Full stop. If Id said what he said in my office I would be sacked, no mistake.

I have to admit that I agreed with the final comment, which was that if Big Ron came back he wouldn't be able to criticise black players ! He would always be looked on as a racist and if he praised them he's just trying to make amends !

Big Ron is one of those people who thinks its ok too be racist when no ones listening or so he thought.
I think its alot worse when somebody says things when they dont think peoples listening, How many times has he said things like this when the microphone has actually stopped.