Sergio Garcia

WHENEVER someone says they are not a racist, and then goes on to qualify the remark by stating that many of their friends are of a particular ethnic persuasion, you immediately wonder if they are indeed racist.

No-one likes racism; no-one likes bigotry or fanaticism of any type. Just look at what two fanatics did on the streets of London last week. They literally chopped another human being to death and then waited for the cameras to shine on them so that their evil doing could go viral on social media.

There is no excuse for such actions. Those people responsible for such a barbaric act should be thrown in prison and the key flushed down the toilet. Society does not need the likes of those people. Their actions have to be firmly stamped out immediately lest copycat incidents become the norm.

Some might argue that soldiers like the poor man fatally injured by those two crazies cause equal hardship and pain to families in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere in the name of protecting democracy or ridding a country of a particular despot, but whether that is true or not does not give the right to these terrorists to act in such a cruel manner.

But back to the controversy raging in the golfing world at present over two phrases: ‘fried chicken’ and the use of the word ‘coloured’. Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia has landed himself in the dock over the use of the ‘fried chicken’ term, while the man who came to his rescue, European tour chief executive George O’Grady, soon found himself knee deep in it when he said Sergio had many ‘coloured’ friends.

It may be inappropriate, but come on – surely there are bigger problems than highly-paid sports people having a spat with each other. Let’s be honest: we have all used terminology in the past that could be construed as racist. I am speaking about everyone here, not just white people.

There is no place for racism but, for the love of God, can we get away from hanging onto every word and utterance that comes out of the mouth of a sports star, then analysing it to death? Are we really solving any problem by doing this? I don’t think so.

Let’s see it for what it was: a spat, nothing more. If any of those involved in this latest incident is indeed a racist, I am sure their actions to date would have clearly demonstrated that. But they haven’t, have they?

Instead, we should perhaps view all this controversy as nothing more than cannon fodder for the press on the eve of a golfing tournament which makes good reading and increases the interest in yet another tournament. Who will be the eventual winner? The sponsors.