…but what do YOU know about black/non-white players at Burnley? Kick It Out’s week will again take place in October, and WTBM…wants to celebrate the diversity of its players…
WTBM…will be publishing an article later this season to coincide with Kick It Out’s week of action.
The article will celebrate the achievements of the club’s black/non-white players.
If you have any favourite players, or know who the first non-white player to represent Burnley was, we would love to hear from you!
Either post in the WTBM… forum, or send an email to whentheballmoves@hotmail.com…or both!
Persoanally I think this is a joke we shouldn’t be celebrating people because they’re black/not white/etc just in the same way we shouldn’t celebrate people because they’re white. It’s a nonsense what has the colour of someone’s skin got to do with anything? It’s about as relevant as celebrating the size of a players chest.
If I was black I’d find this extremely patronising as well it’s treating them like children and almost saying we need to stand up for them because we think they aren’t capable of doing it themselves.
I take your points on board, and I am not advocating “positive discrimination” in any way. It’s just that Kick It Out’s week of action is coming up, and I want to mark it through the fanzine in some way. Sadly, racism still exists in society and in football, and until it stops, I won’t!
The article was knocked up quickly, and if it comes across as patronising in any way, I can only offer my apologies.
And I think that the issue of race is a little more important than the size of a player’s chest insofaras not many get abused for the latter by fellow professionals nor by fans?!
I wasn’t meaning your article in particular I was meaning the whole issue the country seems to have with things like this constantly having events like this when there should be no need. Someone has a different skin colour so what it doesn’t need a big fuss making about it anyone in their right mind wouldn’t be bothered what colour someone’s skin was. People have different colour hair and there’s no events for that. The whole issue is patronising it’s like saying “Look at the poor black people they can’t stand up for themselves”. These events generally make racism out to be worse than any other form of discrimination when all forms of discrimination are as bad as each other they should all be dealt with collectively and punished the same rather than having separate names for them all like racism etc. For example at a Football ground you can call the referee a fat/bald whatever in the spur of the moment but if you say something racial in the spur of the moment you are likely to receive a ban. They should either ban for all those offences or none you shouldn’t treat one kind of discrimination different to another they’re all as wrong as each other.
Excellent idea, Barnsey. Good luck with it! I have often wondered myself who the first black player was for the Clarets to break through the racial prejudice. I am pretty sure our first overseas player was way back in the late 1890s, early 1900s if i recall but I think he was caucasian. I would assume our first Muslim player would have been Ali Akbar although he never made the first team.
I have a feeling the first black footballer per se may nave been Clyde Best at West Ham in the 70s but again I could be wrong
To me it makes no difference at all what of colour your skin is as long as they have claret & blue blood running through it. Ever since i’ve been a Burnley fan we’ve always had a mixed race club Winston White springs to mind as he was one of the first i remember. But imo it’s got nothing to do with rase country or whatever your good enough thats all that matters in the end to me.
Totally agree Ruane, just a pity not all see it like that! Some of the racial prejudice around Burnley is quite frankly an embarassment
There’s a lot of predjudice spouted by one particular group which shall remain nameless. In this country the only thing that gets people’s backs up including mine about foreigners or peopel of different cultures is when they come here and start trying to impose their ways of life on us. Anyone that is willing to behave decently and not try to change the way we live and preferably try to go along with our way of life is welcome as far as I’m concerned.
Personally I think these anti-racism events should be banned. They’re a nonsense if they are going to have anything it should be a be nice to everyone week rather than the constant obsession with racism.
Id name it if I was you, the clue is a three letter acronym
😀
EET?
Seriously though the group I’m referring to take trouble with them everywhere it seems then blame everyone else when things are going bad for them.