Lauded by British media for guiding his team to the World Cup finals one minute, England manager Roy Hodgson was forced to defend himself against a racism slur the next after he used an old joke as a tactical pointer during Tuesday’s win over Poland.
Praise has been heaped on the affable Hodgson for his team’s performances, but yesterday’s headlines, rather than basking in thoughts of Brazil, soured the mood of euphoria.
Hodgson was reported to have used the “feed the monkey” punchline from an old NASA joke when instructing rightback Chris Smalling to pass the ball to livewire midfielder Andros Townsend.
The joke in question came about during the early days of space travel when NASA sent monkeys into space before manned missions. A bored astronaut, tired of the monkey being given all the tasks by mission control asks “When do I get to do something,” and was told “In 15, minutes — feed the monkey.”
Hodgson used the joke to emphasize that getting the ball early to Tottenham Hotspur dangerman Townsend, England’s most effective player in the first half, was their priority.
However, it was apparently lost on some of his players who were reportedly “offended,” according to British newspapers, leading Hodgson to apologize.
“I would like to apologize if any offence has been caused by what I said at halftime,” the 66-year-old was quoted as saying in British media yesterday. “There was absolutely no intention on my part to say anything inappropriate.”
“I made this clear straight away to Andros in the dressing room. I also spoke to Andros again on Wednesday. He has assured me and the FA he did not take any offense, and understood the point I was making in the manner I intended.”
Townsend, who is of Cypriot and Jamaican descent, said yesterday that he was not offended by the joke.
Writing on Twitter, Townsend said: “I don’t know what all this fuss is about. No offence was meant and none was taken! It’s not even news worthy!”
Others too were quick to support Hodgson.
Former England forward Stan Collymore, now a radio pundit and prominent anti-racism campaigner, said no one should have taken offense and those criticizing Hodgson should instead target the real problem.
“Racism is hard enough to keep on the agenda as it is without making everyone think a legitimate space tale should be cause for offence,” he said on Twitter.
Wayne Rooney, who scored England’s opener in Tuesday’s 2-0 win, also tweeted: “Seen the story on roy this morning. He done nothing wrong. This is ridiculous.”
However, the executive director of European anti-racism organizations FARE, Piara Power, said that the England manager should have chosen his words more carefully.
“Hodgson used very silly term within a diverse team environment,” Power said on Twitter. “He should know better.”
‘DEVASTATED’: Argentina’s win was a reversal of their 28-24 defeat last week, with Australian forward Fraser McReight adding that ‘we did the same thing last week’ Argentina flyhalf Santiago Carreras punished an undisciplined Australia with 23 points off the tee as the Pumas held on grimly for a 28-26 win in Sydney yesterday to breathe new life into their Rugby Championship campaign. A try-fest beckoned in afternoon sunshine at Sydney Football Stadium, but Argentina needed only one through captain Julian Montoya, with Carreras doing the damage with seven penalties and a conversion in front of a sell-out crowd. A week after letting a 14-point lead slip in a 28-24 defeat to Australia in Townsville, Argentina saw most of a 21-point advantage erased in the final quarter as the
Captain Vijay Kumar led the way yesterday as the Hsinchu Titans claimed the Taiwan Premier League title at the Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山), beating PCCT by 27 runs. The weather was a topic again, but not the rain that played a role in previous matches in the often-delayed tournament. Kumar, who made 80 not out from 63 deliveries, and teammate Vishwajit Kumar (58 from 43) rescued the Titans from a precarious state at the end of the power play in the T20 match. The visitors were put in to bat and struggled to 26-3 as PCCT
China’s state-run People’s Daily newspaper on Monday published an essay about Chinese basketball it said was written by LeBron James, but a representative for the NBA star said on Thursday that the article was based on a series of interviews. The paper, better known as the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, had said James authored the essay, “Basketball is a Bridge that Connects Us,” a tribute to Chinese players and fans of the sport written in the first person. “LeBron James Pens an Article in the People’s Daily,” read a post published on the newspaper’s official WeChat account. On Thursday, a representative
San Francisco Giants pitcher Teng Kai-wei impressed against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday despite an 8-1 loss in the opener of the team’s nine-game road trip. Teng, the only Taiwanese pitcher active in MLB, struck out five while allowing two hits and one walk over four innings at Chase Field to finish with a no decision, as the teams were tied 1-1 when he finished his outing. He surrendered the lone run of his outing in the bottom of the first, which began with a walk, a hit-by-pitch and two strikeouts. Diamondbacks leadoff hitter Geraldo Perdomo advanced to third on
RSS