Big Ron Atkinson - Is he racist ?



limerickman

Well-Known Member
Jan 5, 2004
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Ron Atkinson - the former Manchester United manager and TV pudit, was profiled in a program on the BBC tonight.

Atkinson was fired from his job at ITV, where he was a football commentator/pundit, and he was also dismissed from the Guardian newspaper,
in April 2004.
(Atkinson claims he resigned both positions but I seem to recall he was effectively fired : but I may be wrong).

The reason why he is no longer employed is because he made racist comments about the French and Chelsea player, Marcel Desailly, who he called "a lazy F****** N*****"
(Desailly is black).
Atkinson's comments were picked up when he was commentating on the game and when assumed that his microphone was off (Chelsea were beaten that night by Monaco).

Atkinson has maintained that although his words were racist - he himself is not racist.
He cited the fact that as a former soccer team manager he was the first to recruit and select black players in the 1970's.
Atkinson publicly apologised for his comments to Desailly and has been persona non-grata ever since making those comments.

Is Big Ron a racist ?
 
limerickman said:
Ron Atkinson - the former Manchester United manager and TV pudit, was profiled in a program on the BBC tonight.

Atkinson was fired from his job at ITV, where he was a football commentator/pundit, and he was also dismissed from the Guardian newspaper,
in April 2004.
(Atkinson claims he resigned both positions but I seem to recall he was effectively fired : but I may be wrong).

The reason why he is no longer employed is because he made racist comments about the French and Chelsea player, Marcel Desailly, who he called "a lazy F****** N*****"
(Desailly is black).
Atkinson's comments were picked up when he was commentating on the game and when assumed that his microphone was off (Chelsea were beaten that night by Monaco).

Atkinson has maintained that although his words were racist - he himself is not racist.
He cited the fact that as a former soccer team manager he was the first to recruit and select black players in the 1970's.
Atkinson publicly apologised for his comments to Desailly and has been persona non-grata ever since making those comments.

Is Big Ron a racist ?
Thing is Lim, you can do something bad and then apologise as much as you want but it wont take away the initial feeling that made you do those things.

Calling him a lazy ******* is probably okay but to call him a nig*ger in this day and age is simply unacceptable. I accept that he is from an older generation who used to use the word liberally without meaning any offence but he is a football giant and in the glare of the media, there are certain things that should not be said even if the mic is turned off.

Is he a racist? Probably not. Is he a stupid **** that should really know better? Yes.

The British media made an example out of him and quite rightly so in my opinion. Its not like he is bankrupt or jailed. He just lost his job but did you see his nice little place in the country? VERY nice. He is close to retiring and i dont believe that many people (except Ian Wright) would really remember him for being a racist.

Just my take on the subject.

I take it you watched 'What Ron Said' last night? Good programme.
 
limerickman said:
Ron Atkinson - the former Manchester United manager and TV pudit, was profiled in a program on the BBC tonight.

Atkinson was fired from his job at ITV, where he was a football commentator/pundit, and he was also dismissed from the Guardian newspaper,
in April 2004.
(Atkinson claims he resigned both positions but I seem to recall he was effectively fired : but I may be wrong).

The reason why he is no longer employed is because he made racist comments about the French and Chelsea player, Marcel Desailly, who he called "a lazy F****** N*****"
(Desailly is black).
Atkinson's comments were picked up when he was commentating on the game and when assumed that his microphone was off (Chelsea were beaten that night by Monaco).

Atkinson has maintained that although his words were racist - he himself is not racist.
He cited the fact that as a former soccer team manager he was the first to recruit and select black players in the 1970's.
Atkinson publicly apologised for his comments to Desailly and has been persona non-grata ever since making those comments.

Is Big Ron a racist ?
Rush was branded such for saying much less. Jimmy the greek was fired for saying much less. In my opinion, he is a racist..However, I'm just basing my opinion on what you have provided here.... I agree with MP...In this day and time there is no excuse for the use of that term period!
 
MountainPro said:
Thing is Lim, you can do something bad and then apologise as much as you want but it wont take away the initial feeling that made you do those things.

Calling him a lazy ******* is probably okay but to call him a nig*ger in this day and age is simply unacceptable. I accept that he is from an older generation who used to use the word liberally without meaning any offence but he is a football giant and in the glare of the media, there are certain things that should not be said even if the mic is turned off.

Is he a racist? Probably not. Is he a stupid **** that should really know better? Yes.

The British media made an example out of him and quite rightly so in my opinion. Its not like he is bankrupt or jailed. He just lost his job but did you see his nice little place in the country? VERY nice. He is close to retiring and i dont believe that many people (except Ian Wright) would really remember him for being a racist.

Just my take on the subject.

I take it you watched 'What Ron Said' last night? Good programme.


Pro - yeah I saw the program and his nice little house - some house, eh ?

I agree - I don't think he is racist as such.
I definitely think he is stupid though.
 
zapper said:
Rush was branded such for saying much less. Jimmy the greek was fired for saying much less. In my opinion, he is a racist..However, I'm just basing my opinion on what you have provided here.... I agree with MP...In this day and time there is no excuse for the use of that term period!

I don't know of the people that you refer to Zapper but I imagine the use of that term would be totally and utterly unacceptable in the USA.
In fact the program sent Big Ron over to Alabahma - and some of the views expressed there were very interesting.
A couple of black girls said that it was tolerable if a black person used that term
in this "gangsta rap" music - which seems contradictary to me but there you go.
These girls were attending University in Alabahma.
 
limerickman said:
I don't know of the people that you refer to Zapper but I imagine the use of that term would be totally and utterly unacceptable in the USA.
In fact the program sent Big Ron over to Alabahma - and some of the views expressed there were very interesting.
A couple of black girls said that it was tolerable if a black person used that term
in this "gangsta rap" music - which seems contradictary to me but there you go.
These girls were attending University in Alabahma.
the only exposure i get to black ghetto culture of the USA is from films such as Boys in the Hood. So i know nothing of the subject but in these films black people seem to use the term when referring to themselves or thier black friends. Its not deemed offensive in this context.

Isnt there a rap band called NWA? (****as with attitude)

I personally believe that it is the most offensive name you could call a black person. I hate racism. I am married to a woman from Asian descent and we get the odd comment fired in our direction, usually from drunks late at night in pubs. I have been compared to john lennon on many occasions and its not for my musical ability (which is non existant).

There is a difference between being racist and being stupid. Big Ron is the latter.
 
limerickman said:
I don't know of the people that you refer to Zapper but I imagine the use of that term would be totally and utterly unacceptable in the USA.
In fact the program sent Big Ron over to Alabahma - and some of the views expressed there were very interesting.
A couple of black girls said that it was tolerable if a black person used that term
in this "gangsta rap" music - which seems contradictary to me but there you go.
These girls were attending University in Alabahma.
Rush limbaugh...Ultra conservative radion host who while acting as commentator on espn made a comment about the black qb on the Eagles fb tm was overrated and that the "media" is hoping that he a black qb does well as it makes for good story. Jimmy the Greek was a very famous announcer that was on ABC sports I believe when Brent Mussberger was "in". He made a comment relative to how fast the typical black athlete is... If either one of these dudes used the "N" word, they probably would have been castrated on air.

I agree, it is quite ironic that these rapsters can call themselves this name but let someone else even utter the term and it the most devastating thing you can say. However I suppose one would have to grow up in the 40's and 50's being called that to understand. On the surface it seems that those who are not black have learned a little by that experience but to some of these young kids, the lesson may have been lost???? It appears that they do not condem the term itself but instead condem those who might use the term that are not of the same race....

Either way, I hate the term period, no matter who utters it.
 
limerickman said:
Pro - yeah I saw the program and his nice little house - some house, eh ?
I agree - I don't think he is racist as such.
I definitely think he is stupid though.
I thought I'd let it run a bit to see what happens here. When Ron was manager at Manchester United he lived nearby me in Rochdale, Lancashire, and he used to come in my local pub occasionaly, he also went to the Piano in the town centre. Now we all know Ron as a jewellry clanking poser, but he really was a nice man, and witty with it. In fact good company. Ron is about my age, and the word ****er was used to describe a black person in general terms, wherever they were from and wasn't a derogatory term. In fact it is printed in my dictionary (1989). It's all up in the air for me, you can't say right for saying wrong. We were led to believe that they should be called Afro-Caribean. The Africans objected to lumped in with Caribeans, and vice versa, and now someone says that Rappas use the word ****a. I just use the same word as Ron unless I know where they come from. I can assure you that Ron is not racist, nor extreme. The world has gone PC mad, that a man loses two jobs because of a faux pas, an apology should have been enough.
 
FredC said:
I thought I'd let it run a bit to see what happens here. When Ron was manager at Manchester United he lived nearby me in Rochdale, Lancashire, and he used to come in my local pub occasionaly, he also went to the Piano in the town centre. Now we all know Ron as a jewellry clanking poser, but he really was a nice man, and witty with it. In fact good company. Ron is about my age, and the word ****er was used to describe a black person in general terms, wherever they were from and wasn't a derogatory term. In fact it is printed in my dictionary (1989). It's all up in the air for me, you can't say right for saying wrong. We were led to believe that they should be called Afro-Caribean. The Africans objected to lumped in with Caribeans, and vice versa, and now someone says that Rappas use the word ****a. I just use the same word as Ron unless I know where they come from. I can assure you that Ron is not racist, nor extreme. The world has gone PC mad, that a man loses two jobs because of a faux pas, an apology should have been enough.
Fred, I am amazed at how many celebrities that you either worked with or personally knew/know as a friend and mentor. However, your dictionary analogy is lame. "Jackass" is in your dictionary too, but I hardly think you would want someone calling you that...or would you?
 
FredC said:
I can assure you that Ron is not racist, nor extreme. The world has gone PC mad, that a man loses two jobs because of a faux pas, an apology should have been enough.
I tend to agree with you concerning this PC mad world (thanks to the libs and the aclu). However, I disagree with the "faux pas" segment of your post...
 
FredC said:
I thought I'd let it run a bit to see what happens here. When Ron was manager at Manchester United he lived nearby me in Rochdale, Lancashire, and he used to come in my local pub occasionaly, he also went to the Piano in the town centre. Now we all know Ron as a jewellry clanking poser, but he really was a nice man, and witty with it. In fact good company. Ron is about my age, and the word ****er was used to describe a black person in general terms, wherever they were from and wasn't a derogatory term. In fact it is printed in my dictionary (1989). It's all up in the air for me, you can't say right for saying wrong. We were led to believe that they should be called Afro-Caribean. The Africans objected to lumped in with Caribeans, and vice versa, and now someone says that Rappas use the word ****a. I just use the same word as Ron unless I know where they come from. I can assure you that Ron is not racist, nor extreme. The world has gone PC mad, that a man loses two jobs because of a faux pas, an apology should have been enough.

I don't think Ron A. is a racist - look at the black players who have stated that he isn't a racist.

Paul McGrath - who played in Rons utd, team - said that Big Ron was never a
racist.
In fact McGrath tells of Ron organising a five side - "Coons versus the Honkies" when he was at Utd.
(McGrath was referring to how Ron would and did label people - not maliciously).
 
zapper said:
Fred, I am amazed at how many celebrities that you either worked with or personally knew/know as a friend and mentor. However, your dictionary analogy is lame. "Jackass" is in your dictionary too, but I hardly think you would want someone calling you that...or would you?
Well in that case you'd better be putting about a bit, if you ever did anything, you're 20 years younger than me. At least I did something of note.
Just looked up 'Jackass' in the dictionary, and it makes more sense than the euphenisms used in common ignorant language these days. I support the word, and wouldn't mean being described as such. It is only an interjection normally found in verbal jousting, and cannot be found as an illegal insult. It's just not cricket old bean.
You don't know who we all are, but we know who we all are.
Hey, we know everybody.
 
Mountain sauce dispenser said:
how old is that...? The big fella is in his late 50s early 60s surely.
I'm 61, wheres the ******' contraption?
 
limerickman said:
I don't think Ron A. is a racist - look at the black players who have stated that he isn't a racist.

Paul McGrath - who played in Rons utd, team - said that Big Ron was never a
racist.
In fact McGrath tells of Ron organising a five side - "Coons versus the Honkies" when he was at Utd.
(McGrath was referring to how Ron would and did label people - not maliciously).
Now that's a cracker. Ron totally encapsulated, couldn't have been put better. He eventually excused McGrath from training because he had ****ers knee caps, a local term for a black pudding. Of course Ron realised that playing him at his best was good for the team despite his injuries. I don't remember any twats writing that one up on the sports pages.
 
tarczan said:
By the use of the word racist.
so you think that because the TV documentary used the word racist that we on this thread think all races are the same save colour?...

your accusations are based upon your own misunderstanding of the situation.

okay, engage brain, read the thread from the beginning, then speak.

if thats too difficult i suggest you shut up...
 

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