Dean Jones sacked after ‘terrorist’ remark
Pardon me for a parochial comment (about cricket and about South Africa), but this caught my eye…
Jones is distraught and repentent (see his statement below), but he is also fired. In a connected and flat world like the one we live in, you can’t get away with any form of prejudice like that. And public commentators (of any sort) cannot get away with private prejudice for too long either (long live the impending death of spin doctors everywhere!!).
Jones’ comment:
“It was a silly and completely insensitive thing to say and, obviously, it was never supposed to be heard over the air. I am truly sorry to have caused offence to anybody and the last thing I intended was to be disrespectful.
“Everyone needs to get away from perpetuating the myth, publicly and privately, that beards associated with the Muslim faith are somehow suspicious, and I intend to do exactly that. The irony is that I am great friends with most of the Pakistan team and they are all Muslims.
“I have no end of respect for the Muslim faith – that’s why I’m so sorry at making such a stupid comment,” he said. “It does not represent who I am, how I think or what I believe. I will be the first person to apologise to Hashim as soon as I get the chance, and I will assure him that prejudice against anybody, on any basis, is unacceptable and not something I will ever condone.”
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Actions speak louder than words? Phwah! Dean Jones shows how easy it is to throw away a career with words. His statement is totally incongruent with his infamous statement. I ask myself, how does someone say soemthing like that if they really don’t believe it?
It would have been more respectable for him to say, “Look guys, I did believe that. But my recent amdonishment has resulted in me reforming my belief.” Or, “I have no rational prrof that Mr Amla is a terrorist, hence I retract my statement until I have my facts straight.”
Should he have been sacked in the first place? There are singers in the United States who’ve become very political in their acts, yet have trouble understanding why there is a backlash against them. They end up with fewer record sales and often have to cancel concerts due to lack of interest. Many fans want to hear their music but not their political philosophy.
Admittedly, that example is a bit different than one guy on a team. Still, many athletes have a certain amount of income from advertisements. If companies refuse to use them, then they have lost income. They have to face the consequences of their actions. Firing someone is the ultimate consequence. What if they had used some other word, besides, “terrorist?” What was the reaction of the guy who was called “terrorist?” Was the action taken a bit hasty? Suppose he had been sidelined for a game or two, instead?