I find it hard to believe that no-one at the Sun was aware of Barkley's heritage. They print attention-seeking drivel like this to stir it up and get the publicity. This time it backfired and I hope they go bust.
I'll readily admit I don't like Kelvin McKenzie but I'm uncomfortable with the racism angle of this if I'm honest. What has he said that is racially offensive?
The words as I read them were an insult to Barkleys perceived gormlessness as I have read them. I don't see what relevance his heritage or family lineage is to that.
Mckenzie says plenty of offensive things and has had direct involvement in some offensive things. Being as objective I can I don't think he has done anything racist here.
Frankie Boyle once described Wayne Rooney as looking like someone had shaved a chimp and kicked it through primark. Is that offensive to Wayne Rooney or chimps or what?
To reiterate I don't like Kelvin McKenzie and don't have sympathy for him given he has made a pretty lucrative career out of saying obnoxious things but he is only guilty of saying disparaging things about the punters in the bar that the attack on Ross Barkley happened.
Gareth Bale is often compared with a chimp as well
Is he related to Jordan Henderson then?
And why do half the man utd team look like they are related to Dobby the House Elf? They are rapidly becoming the ugliest team in the history of football. (That's if you are allowed to exclude Eric Gates from the Ipswich team of the 70s/80s of course.)
I'll readily admit I don't like Kelvin McKenzie but I'm uncomfortable with the racism angle of this if I'm honest. What has he said that is racially offensive?
The words as I read them were an insult to Barkleys perceived gormlessness as I have read them. I don't see what relevance his heritage or family lineage is to that.
Mckenzie says plenty of offensive things and has had direct involvement in some offensive things. Being as objective I can I don't think he has done anything racist here.
Frankie Boyle once described Wayne Rooney as looking like someone had shaved a chimp and kicked it through primark. Is that offensive to Wayne Rooney or chimps or what?
To reiterate I don't like Kelvin McKenzie and don't have sympathy for him given he has made a pretty lucrative career out of saying obnoxious things but he is only guilty of saying disparaging things about the punters in the bar that the attack on Ross Barkley happened.
Gareth Bale is often compared with a chimp as well
Is he related to Jordan Henderson then?
And why do half the man utd team look like they are related to Dobby the House Elf? They are rapidly becoming the ugliest team in the history of football. (That's if you are allowed to exclude Eric Gates from the Ipswich team of the 70s/80s of course.)
I usually enjoy his column, it's often humorous and aims to deflate those who have got too puffed up and self important .. BUT, I read the 'article' about Barkley .. it was a mean and unnecessary slating of a young man who did not deserve this, comparing him to a gorilla was tasteless and insulting in the extreme .. as to the slagging off of Liverpool and scousers in general ? .. you can read worse than that on here on a daily basis
The irony being that Mackenzie himself is highly puffed up and self important. And a weak journalist whose career only exists because he attached his jaws to the soft tissue inside Murdoch's colon early on
Barkley's Nigerian heritage was news in several dailies last year and previously. There is no way he can be likened to an ape. He is a skillful rather than physical player, tall and lean and most women would consider him attractive without his £60k a week. The gorilla slur can only be attributed to his ancestry. If McKenzie researced his wage and age it is unlikely he didn't uncover these facts as well. Additionally he is a football fan, not a naive journalist.
I haven't read the full article but reading the excerpts printed in that piece on the BBC website I have to defend Mr McKenzie. He didnt say Barkley looked like a gorilla, he said he has a look in his eyes, like you see in a gorilla in a zoo. He is not comparing him to a gorilla, but the that he has a faraway look in his eyes, like a zoo specimen has when being stuck in captivity.
I am certainly no fan of Mackenzie but typical of the media (and certain CL posters) that a "story" is jumped on & hyped him without actually reading what has been printed
So you really think it is Ok for him to continually insult and abuse the people of Liverpool? It is totally prejudicial and if you think that is Ok then you are probably as big a scumbag as he is. The people of Liverpool have been the subject of his insults and intuition for at least 26 years. The gorilla thing is a red herring and he is one of the world's biggest scumbags and if he agree with even one one word of his bile the you are too.
I never mentioned Liverpool, did I ??? I was commenting on the racial slur & pointing out that he didn't say what people are saying he said. The only complaint has come from the Mayor of Liverpool - and that was about the drug dealers reference & not about the so-called racial undertone
Not specifically but it was implied. Your original piece said "I have to defend Mr McKenzie". If your comment was only about the racism then it was not clear and we are talking cross purposes.
I haven't read the full article but reading the excerpts printed in that piece on the BBC website I have to defend Mr McKenzie. He didnt say Barkley looked like a gorilla, he said he has a look in his eyes, like you see in a gorilla in a zoo. He is not comparing him to a gorilla, but the that he has a faraway look in his eyes, like a zoo specimen has when being stuck in captivity.
I am certainly no fan of Mackenzie but typical of the media (and certain CL posters) that a "story" is jumped on & hyped him without actually reading what has been printed
How many gorillas do you think McKenzie has looked in the eye?
I haven't read the full article but reading the excerpts printed in that piece on the BBC website I have to defend Mr McKenzie. He didnt say Barkley looked like a gorilla, he said he has a look in his eyes, like you see in a gorilla in a zoo. He is not comparing him to a gorilla, but the that he has a faraway look in his eyes, like a zoo specimen has when being stuck in captivity.
I am certainly no fan of Mackenzie but typical of the media (and certain CL posters) that a "story" is jumped on & hyped him without actually reading what has been printed
How many gorillas do you think McKenzie has looked in the eye?
Too few.
But that's given me a great idea for a gofundme page...
I haven't read the full article but reading the excerpts printed in that piece on the BBC website I have to defend Mr McKenzie. He didnt say Barkley looked like a gorilla, he said he has a look in his eyes, like you see in a gorilla in a zoo. He is not comparing him to a gorilla, but the that he has a faraway look in his eyes, like a zoo specimen has when being stuck in captivity.
I am certainly no fan of Mackenzie but typical of the media (and certain CL posters) that a "story" is jumped on & hyped him without actually reading what has been printed
How many gorillas do you think McKenzie has looked in the eye?
Too few.
But that's given me a great idea for a gofundme page...
Let's raise money for KM to go into a gorilla enclosure and tell the alpha male he looks like Ross Barkely. I contribute to that.
I haven't read the full article but reading the excerpts printed in that piece on the BBC website I have to defend Mr McKenzie. He didnt say Barkley looked like a gorilla, he said he has a look in his eyes, like you see in a gorilla in a zoo. He is not comparing him to a gorilla, but the that he has a faraway look in his eyes, like a zoo specimen has when being stuck in captivity.
I am certainly no fan of Mackenzie but typical of the media (and certain CL posters) that a "story" is jumped on & hyped him without actually reading what has been printed
How many gorillas do you think McKenzie has looked in the eye?
If he's bothered to he would have seen they have very human eyes. The ones in London zoo certainly look pissed off with their lot in life.
Barkley's Nigerian heritage was news in several dailies last year and previously. There is no way he can be likened to an ape. He is a skillful rather than physical player, tall and lean and most women would consider him attractive without his £60k a week. The gorilla slur can only be attributed to his ancestry. If McKenzie researced his wage and age it is unlikely he didn't uncover these facts as well. Additionally he is a football fan, not a naive journalist.
I would be interested to know how many people knew he had Nigerian grandparents, not many I'm guessing.
Agreed. I, for one, had no idea. Is everyone supposed to know the family backgrounds of all Premiership players ? McKenzie's article is pathetic but racist ? Nowhere close.
I would be interested to know how many people knew he had Nigerian grandparents, not many I'm guessing.
Agreed. I, for one, had no idea. Is everyone supposed to know the family backgrounds of all Premiership players ? McKenzie's article is pathetic but racist ? Nowhere close.
If you are getting paid £300,000 for a column in a paper it probably wouldn't take 5 minutes to check Wikipedia before you start slagging soneone off about their intelligence. Maybe try a bit of actual investigative journalism to back up your claims that someone is as thick as you think they are?
Thanks for that @McBobbin. I never knew there were different versions of the virus - some 'fitter' than the others, or more likely to infect the HIV- individual.
Thanks for that @McBobbin. I never knew there were different versions of the virus - some 'fitter' than the others, or more likely to infect the HIV- individual.
No worries! From a scientific viewpoint it's a fascinating virus, always mutating. Makes it a massive challenge to treat and vaccinate against though.
I would be interested to know how many people knew he had Nigerian grandparents, not many I'm guessing.
Agreed. I, for one, had no idea. Is everyone supposed to know the family backgrounds of all Premiership players ? McKenzie's article is pathetic but racist ? Nowhere close.
If you are getting paid £300,000 for a column in a paper it probably wouldn't take 5 minutes to check Wikipedia before you start slagging soneone off about their intelligence. Maybe try a bit of actual investigative journalism to back up your claims that someone is as thick as you think they are?
Yes. However, I was posting in response to the previous post which questioned if many people would know about Barkley's heritage - not just journalists.
I would be interested to know how many people knew he had Nigerian grandparents, not many I'm guessing.
Agreed. I, for one, had no idea. Is everyone supposed to know the family backgrounds of all Premiership players ? McKenzie's article is pathetic but racist ? Nowhere close.
If you are getting paid £300,000 for a column in a paper it probably wouldn't take 5 minutes to check Wikipedia before you start slagging soneone off about their intelligence. Maybe try a bit of actual investigative journalism to back up your claims that someone is as thick as you think they are?
Yes. However, I was posting in response to the previous post which questioned if many people would know about Barkley's heritage - not just journalists.
I doubt many, even Everton fans, would know that fact about Barkleys heritage. I agree it's not racist what he has written instead it's incredibly inappropriate that some fact checking would not go amiss considering Kelvin is a journalist. Everyone is entitled to free speech but putting it in writing in the public domain requires a little bit more scrutiny. And you would think someone like Kelvin who has been in the game long enough would know that unless he is trying to stoke up a bit of controversy.
I would be interested to know how many people knew he had Nigerian grandparents, not many I'm guessing.
Agreed. I, for one, had no idea. Is everyone supposed to know the family backgrounds of all Premiership players ? McKenzie's article is pathetic but racist ? Nowhere close.
If you are getting paid £300,000 for a column in a paper it probably wouldn't take 5 minutes to check Wikipedia before you start slagging soneone off about their intelligence. Maybe try a bit of actual investigative journalism to back up your claims that someone is as thick as you think they are?
Yes. However, I was posting in response to the previous post which questioned if many people would know about Barkley's heritage - not just journalists.
I doubt many, even Everton fans, would know that fact about Barkleys heritage. I agree it's not racist what he has written instead it's incredibly inappropriate that some fact checking would not go amiss considering Kelvin is a journalist. Everyone is entitled to free speech but putting it in writing in the public domain requires a little bit more scrutiny. And you would think someone like Kelvin who has been in the game long enough would know that unless he is trying to stoke up a bit of controversy.
Any Football Manager player worth their salt knows that Barkley is part Nigerian. As soon as he broke through we all looked him up on FM and there was that green and white flag under 'Other Nationalities'. Clearly Kelvin doesn't play the game, which, incredibly, takes him even lower in my estimations
Comments
I'd have more respect for Everton if they returned all their sky money if they were so offended.
And why do half the man utd team look like they are related to Dobby the House Elf? They are rapidly becoming the ugliest team in the history of football. (That's if you are allowed to exclude Eric Gates from the Ipswich team of the 70s/80s of course.)
This
But that's given me a great idea for a gofundme page...
The Everton fans went ape!
http://www.returnofkings.com/3882/the-truth-about-aids
McKenzie's article is pathetic but racist ? Nowhere close.
I'm mean think about it, in countries with high incidence of HIV, in sub Saharan Africa, is it only gay men and junkies? Of course not.