Darran said:
I am not taking anything away from this horrific case whatsoever but people are going to have to be very careful what they say right across the board even in jest.
For example I was recently referred to as Neath’s Douglas Bader on another forum and I’m the type of person that doesn’t give a f*ck but someone else might have been offended.
During the Clydach Murders documentary a few months ago they said they found one glove at the scene,I tweeted that I’ve got an alibi.
A former player texted me immediately saying “I was going to reply to your tweet saying you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”
I replied “go ahead I don’t care.”
He replied “I know you don’t care but someone will on your behalf.”
There was also an horrific post on another forum recently referring to women footballers as rug munchers.
Be careful what you’re saying guys even if you’re joking.
Now hop it.
Sorry that’s nonsense. This isn’t about somebody being offended on Rafiq’s behalf. This is about him and, it seems, many others being subjected to a career long barrage of racist abuse in the name of banter in the workplace. That was then compounded by his employer and the cricketing authorities refusing to even acknowledge the issue let alone do something about it. And when they did acknowledge it they tried to brush it under the carpet and even tried to blame Rafiq for raising it.
You and I both know the kind of banter we’ve had over the years. I do it because I know it doesn’t offend you. If it did you’d only have to say once and it would never happen again. If someone decided to pull me up on something I said to you I’d tell them to f**k off and mind their own business. What I wouldn’t do is use the same language to a stranger or someone I work with and if I did I’d fully expect to be pulled up on it. As well as we know each other, if we worked together I wouldn’t talk to you in that way in that context either.
The situations you’ve outlined simply aren’t comparable to the Rafiq issue.
