“It’s always fair to be hopeful, but at the same time, we have to be realistic.” So says Daniel Harris of the positive change Raheem Sterling’s public response to racist taunting may yet elicit.
An unwarranted figure of disdain among certain sections of the English media, in the full view of television cameras on Saturday evening, Manchester City’s Sterling was subjected to a volley of racially-incentivised abuse from a small enclave of Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge.
The weekend’s most highly-anticipated Premier League tie, a number of keen-eyed viewers quickly picked up what Sterling had had to face head on, elevating the issue to the point where major calls for change were raised from numerous prominent football figures.
Met with little more but a knowing smile from Sterling initially, holding out hope that the English winger’s subsequent response to the abuse via his Instagram account could act as an incentive for the eradication of such behaviour from the game remains difficult, as far as Harris is concerned.
“I don’t think that addressing the issue in football is particularly difficult because it’s quite obvious,” Harris explained.
“In terms of addressing the wider issue, we’re talking about huge structural issues with regards to how society works.
“That [will require] a huge amount of work, and if I’m honest I’d be surprised if it gone done in our lifetimes. It doesn’t mean to say that we shouldn’t be striving to make a better and fairer world.
“So, I wouldn’t necessarily say that Raheem Sterling’s situation will serve as a springboard for us to cure the ills of our society, because those ills are so historical and deep-seeded.
The disheartening assessment Harris provides has been variously reflected in the coverage of Sterling’s response to the abuse. Having targeted certain sections of the media for their illicit attempts to “fuel racism,” it was telling that a stark lack of introspection surrounded the reports of Sterling’s statement.
Central (but not limited) to Sterling’s condemnation was The Daily Mail; a publication the English player used headlines from in his statement to highlight the disparity between how a young, wealthy footballer may be depicted depending on their skin colour.
Responding to Sterling’s accusation, a one-line statement in the middle of an article in today’s edition of the newspaper was felt to be sufficient: “[Sterling] wrongly alleges the difference was racially motivated.”
Furthermore, quoting the author of the unflattering piece Sterling highlighted, Anthony Joseph stated; “The colour of someone else’s skin doesn’t even enter my mind when I talk to them/write about [teenage football millionaires].”
Amid sporadic calls for greater equality espoused in a limited section of today’s newspapers, the principle at play appeared clear; don’t editorialise Sterling’s remarks beyond reporting they occurred at all.
“I think it’s possible that newspapers like the Mail and The Sun will change their ways at some point,” Daniel Harris stated.
“Financially it might become better for them to do that, there might be some regulation, but the same biases will exist in society and that is a very, very big job [to address].
“Hopefully we’re looking at tackling it, but we’re not anywhere near resolving it, and I don’t think we’ll be anywhere near resolving it [even] in 50-years time.”
Presenting his thoughts on the matter in The Guardian, Stan Collymore shares Harris’ outlook. Singling out this ambivalence which may not be addressed unless driven by the financial or regulatory incentive Harris mentions, Collymore holds an equally damning assessment regarding what can be done.
“With one early-morning Instagram post Raheem Sterling has got everyone talking about racism,” Collymore began.
“But here’s the thing: nothing will change. It never does when it comes to racism in this country.”
Describing the evident barriers to change within English society, Harris couldn’t but draw parallels between the sustained occurrence of such behaviour among football fans, and Brexit.
“I guess it’s a bit like Brexit in a way, where you find all the worst people are on one side, whether they’re right or wrong,” Harris argued.
“Anyone who thinks Raheem Sterling is not suffering racism, or that the person you need to listen to about Raheem Sterling’s racism is not Raheem Sterling but someone who is white like Piers Morgan ... all those wrong people are on the wrong side of this.”
From a game that may go some way toward determining this year’s Premier League title, right-minded people will be hopeful that if the incident involving Raheem Sterling is to instigate legitimate change, it will take on more than just a seasonal outlook.
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