Cokey wrote:
Unfortunately, we live in a very very woke country/world, and if this upsets the said woke brigade because of this, (between 2 players who will make up after anyway), we are fooked.
Tripe. Utter tripe. It’s not about being woke, public perception and brand confidence.. These players are walking talking billboards, when the my say and do stupid stuff they damage the brand. We can all complain about not getting enough advertising revenue and media attention, but we need to shake the stigma of the sport.
People in the public sphere should be held to a higher regard, they are meant to be role models to inspire others. On the back of a really successful and diverse World Cup programme, people saying stupid stuff is going in the opposite direction.
You don’t need to be offended by it, you don’t need to take exception, but if a sponsor withdraws because of it, or a teammate objects to the language used, it can impact massively. The sport benefits from its tolerance, see Keegan Hirst, but that is sanitised when idiots say idiotic things, see Zak Hardaker’s comments to Child.
If you’re not offended by the language used, great. Stop reading, move on. But someone may be. It’s not being woke to want to accept every new or potential support of the sport.
