3/1 To Win
Derby County duo Sam Winnall and Mason Bennett took part in a Q&A at Pride Park Stadium on Thursday 22nd March in support of Show Racism the Red Card.
The event was fronted by Derby County, Derbyshire Police, The PFA, victim support charity ‘Got Your Back’ and representatives from the Punjabi Rams Supporters Club.
On the day, year nine pupils from local schools visited the Dave Mackay lounge to take part in a range of workshops covering hate crime, cyber bullying, stereotyping and a screening of an SRtRC video to raise awareness of their work.
Following a morning of learning, the arrival of Winnall and Bennett gave the pupils present an opportunity to take part in a Q&A and pose questions on their experiences of racism in football.
During the Q&A, Winnall commented on experiences during his career: “I’ve only experienced racism once during my playing career. It was at an away game and one of our players was receiving some abuse.
“The whole team got behind him, and it spurred us on to win the game and he scored the winning goal.”
He added: “Events like this just show that we are heading in the right direction, but we need to keep going and keep working until we don’t have an issue any more.”
When asked about the future and new ways of preventing racism, Mason Bennett added: “It’s been mentioned that social media is becoming more prominent when it comes to racism.
“I think as footballers within the current generation we should use social media to spread the word of initiatives like Show Racism the Red Card.”
The Rams duo were joined on the panel by former professional footballer Jason Lee who now works as an Equalities Education Executive at the PFA and Pav Samra from the Punjabi Rams supporters group.
From the perspective of a spectator at football matches, Samra said: “Ignorance and stereotyping is something that we face regularly.
“We need to be weary that racism isn’t banter. If someone says something derogatory to you, it is going to hurt you whether it’s banter or not.”
When talking about how to handle people that are racist, Lee said: “I would always challenge someone who is racist. Even today terminology has changed and people will say things that aren’t meant to be derogatory. We all make mistakes, so sometimes challenging it can be the education a person needs.
“I wouldn’t label someone as racist for the rest of their lives if they have said something once, provided they are willing to learn about what is acceptable and what isn’t.”
Following the event both Winnall and Bennett took plenty of time to pose for photographs and sign posters for all the pupils. They even awarded the youngsters who asked the best questions during the Q&A with a signed ball and t-shirt.
The educational events at football clubs allow young people to experience a first-hand interaction with anti-racism role models in the form of professional footballers and spend time thinking critically about this important issue.
More information on the work of SRtRC can be found on their website: theredcard.org.
