Over the past few days, London club West Ham have taken the front pages of newspapers for something their athlete did. Defender Kurt Zouma was filmed beating his cats indoors and suffered a lot of criticism and even punishment. But his teammate, Michael Antonio, came to his friend’s defense and questioned: “Is this worse than racism?”.
In an interview on his arrival at the training center, the striker answered some journalists who were at the door. Obviously the case would be discussed, but he didn’t avoid the question and gave his statement.
Jarrod Bowen is in some form ???? pic.twitter.com/QEZQy1A24c
— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 9, 2022
“I have a question for you. So, do you think what he did is worse than racism? I’m not tolerating something he did. I don’t agree with what he did. But there are people who were convicted and caught for racism and played football afterwards”, said the Jamaican.
This is due to the fact that the Frenchman entered the field for the English Premier League after the video was circulated and he was booed by Watford’s own fans and opponents.
“They’ve been punished, given an eight-game punishment or something. But people are now asking others to be fired, to lose their livelihood. I just have to ask that question to everyone out there. What he did is worse than what people have done who are condemned for racism?”
The case goes beyond the club’s negative response. His coach in the English team, David Moyes, in the French team, Didier Deschamps, and sponsors, both personal and team, made statements against the player. Adidas stopped sponsoring the athlete, Vitality, which sponsored West Ham, also ended the contract.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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