' Ex Cardiff City Star Angry & Stunned '

Malky Mackay and Dave Whelan: Cardiff City legend Nathan Blake on how his personal fight with racism has left him stunned by this week's events

Monday Nov 24, 2014

By Nathan Blake

"When I was a boy I grew up on a council estate in Newport. When I went out, I did not walk around the estate, I had to fight my way around." Nathan Blake talks emotionally about his literal fight with racism in the context of this week's events at Wigan Athletic.


Nathan Blake is angry about the events at Wigan this weekNathan Blake is angry about Malky Mackay's appointment and Dave Whelan's words
People wonder why I am so passionate when it comes to speaking out about racism, well, let me tell you.

When I was a boy I grew up on a council estate in Newport that was 99% white. When I went out, I did not walk around the estate, I had to fight my way around. Every day I would be targeted, often with actual violence more often with verbal insults. Imagine having to put up with that, not because of what you’ve said or what you’ve done, but all because of the colour of your skin.

Back then it was acceptable. In the 1970s it was on the TV, comedians like Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson used racist terms, Love Thy Neighbour was on and you know what people are like, especially kids, they copy what they see and hear on TV.

I have spent my adult life working to make sure that can never happen again, hoping that all that is finally in the dark and distant past. I’m really hopeful of change and there has been a shift in attitudes right across society, but one institution seems immune to that change and that is football.

The appointment of former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay as boss at Wigan and then the subsequent comments by Latics’ owner Dave Whelan have left me shocked, disappointed and, yes, angry too.

After the texts Mackay is said to have exchanged with his former head of recruitment at Cardiff, Iain Moody, many would question whether he should ever be allowed back into football at all, that he is back and with such haste is I think rather shocking.

Listen: Malky Mackay and Nathan Blake discuss racism in our studio in 2012


Mackay is still being investigated by the FA, for Whelan to just appoint him as manager, to bring him back into the game with so little thought, basically laughs in the face of that investigation. It totally trivialises it.

Whelan himself then came out in the press with comments that were incredibly derogatory, damaging and deeply racist. People then said he should not really be held to account because he is 77, he is of a different generation and does not know any better and I suppose you can accept that up to a point.

Whelan is 77, but Mackay is 42, the exact same age as me. There are no excuses for him.

I’ve seen people trying to defend Mackay by saying they were private messages between two friends. For me that is worse. It is in private that you reveal the person you truly are. In public, at work, at school, we project ourselves in a certain way, we have to, but it is in private communication with friends and family that we show what we really are.

People talk about these racial slurs as mere ‘banter,’ the League Managers’ Association actually used that phrase, we are told to ‘lighten up,’ it’s just a joke after all. But people who have never been on the receiving end of this hateful stuff or had a love one abused simply for the colour of their skin or their nationality cannot even begin to imagine the pain it causes. Those who have not suffered it have no right to tell us to ‘lighten up.’ It is not funny, it is not a banter, it is racism and it is wrong.

I just hope people who have friends who indulge in this sort of thing can be strong, can just step aside and not laugh along or ignore it for a quiet life. People being racist need to be stopped in their tracks, told it is wrong and not funny in the slightest. As we have seen with Mackay, only when confronted about their behaviour might they feel some shame or remorse.

Nathan Blake was idolised by the Cardiff City fans in the early 1990s

I’m not saying Mackay should never be allowed back into the game, but the job at Wigan has come way too soon. It is said he has had racial awareness training, but you can’t change a mind-set so quickly, it takes time and the education must mean that those who use these racist terms understand fully the impact it has on those they are insulting.

The problem right now is that football believes it is bigger than racism, people like Whelan think they can just do what they want because they own a football club, that they can brush aside the issues. They must be taught they cannot.

Racism is not just an issue anyway, it’s not an abstract thing, racism is about people, real people. It affects old people, children, mums and dads, sisters and brothers.

For me it’s about the young boy I was back in the 1970s. I had to endure what I put up with growing up, I had to carry that burden, a little scared kid worried about going outside the front door for fear of what he would find on the other side.

Now as a father I look at my own children and I worry, surely they are not going to have to go through what I did, they are not going to have to carry that fearful burden too. It concerns me and it should concern us all.

Thank you Annis for posting this. It is very heartfelt - and all the more so as it is true and spoken from the person who suffered, not some middle-aged white bloke like me ranting on about it.

For all the posters on here who excuse Malky, Whelan, John Terry and the like - would you argue with Blakey to his face, use the disgusting terms that Malky used?

No, I thought not...

This should be an announcement - easily as relevant to Cardiff City fans as a match in Belgrade.

CTID

Hope those who defend Malky on this forum read this and can see why this "it's only a couple of Texts" is irrelevant. Thankfully, the majority of people in this country have moved with the times, but you will always get a small group who still live in the dark ages and think this sort of behaviour is acceptable.

GUYS, this was a post sent last night and belongs maybe with Nathan's post. PLEASE THINK WHAT YOU SAY, it might be a joke to some of you but it's not as simple as you think. Nathan Blake, I do not really support his views on Cardiff City, especially when Malky was in charge, and his going on about Vincent Tan all the time, and I told him so on the Radio Wales, BUT, and I mean this..WE all have to stand up against racism. Kevforcity!!

BELOW POST.

Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Post a reply

First unread post • 14 posts • Page 1 of 1
Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby 099 sound system » Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:38 pm

Fair play.

It was the dogs bollocks.

Or I hope it wasn't.

I'll get me coat

Watch the Lefties go into facking Orbit on this one now
099 sound system

Posts: 213
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2010 8:10 pm
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby OriginalGrangeEndBlue » Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:14 pm

Well I'm having an Indian tomorrow. Is that allowed?
User avatar
OriginalGrangeEndBlue

Posts: 1455
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:05 am
Location: Cardiff
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby Cardiffcitymad » Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:18 pm

What an earth is "a chinkies" ?
User avatar
Cardiffcitymad

Posts: 1537
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:13 am
Location: Pontypridd
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby barry boy » Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:34 pm

OriginalGrangeEndBlue wrote:
Well I'm having an Indian tomorrow. Is that allowed?


I think the correct term is "Native American", but why would you want to eat one ?
User avatar
barry boy

Posts: 656
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:45 pm
Location: Over the Island
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby OriginalGrangeEndBlue » Sat Nov 22, 2014 9:48 am

barry boy wrote:
OriginalGrangeEndBlue wrote:
Well I'm having an Indian tomorrow. Is that allowed?


I think the correct term is "Native American", but why would you want to eat one ?


Prefer one to a chinkies.
User avatar
OriginalGrangeEndBlue

Posts: 1455
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:05 am
Location: Cardiff
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby sloper_road_legend » Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:21 am

OriginalGrangeEndBlue wrote:
barry boy wrote:
OriginalGrangeEndBlue wrote:
Well I'm having an Indian tomorrow. Is that allowed?


I think the correct term is "Native American", but why would you want to eat one ?


Prefer one to a chinkies.


Well I went down the paki shop last night for some bits and peices - Is that really so bad? 80-90% of us on here
undoubtably call it that behind closed doors, but will never admit it publicly.

and they are actually from pakistan and their nationality is Paki/pakistan
User avatar
sloper_road_legend

Posts: 3366
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 12:40 am
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby OriginalGrangeEndBlue » Sat Nov 22, 2014 10:47 am

Spot on.
That's the way I see it. I worked in England over the years & was often called Taff. It's never bothered me.
Chinese are chinks, Scots are jocks etc.
User avatar
OriginalGrangeEndBlue

Posts: 1455
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:05 am
Location: Cardiff
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby mr_nellio » Sat Nov 22, 2014 12:01 pm

Get called Taff or Welshie at some point every day up here!
Blue for life
mr_nellio

Posts: 677
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:00 pm
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby Xcasual » Sat Nov 22, 2014 12:03 pm

Cardiffcitymad wrote:
What an earth is "a chinkies" ?


As if you didn't know
http://www.kontaktkombat.co
User avatar
Xcasual

Posts: 5138
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2010 5:50 pm
Location: Great Britain
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby Cardiffcitymad » Sat Nov 22, 2014 6:46 pm

Xcasual wrote:
Cardiffcitymad wrote:
What an earth is "a chinkies" ?


As if you didn't know

No actually I don't ! If you are going to start a thread that is inevitably going to make a bit of noise then at least get it right FFS!
User avatar
Cardiffcitymad

Posts: 1537
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:13 am
Location: Pontypridd
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby sloper_road_legend » Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:27 pm

Cardiffcitymad wrote:
Xcasual wrote:
Cardiffcitymad wrote:
What an earth is "a chinkies" ?


As if you didn't know

No actually I don't ! If you are going to start a thread that is inevitably going to make a bit of noise then at least get it right FFS!


More PC within a PC motivated thread

If you associated speciaoww 'fry rice' with Chinese in a chinese accent or use fake indian accent refering to curry your a racist in the public eye.

if you take the mick out of british norther british person, over northern gravy or a pork pie or something, they will laugh it off

These foreigners just havent got a sense of humour, its the same with the black or the white jokes
User avatar
sloper_road_legend

Posts: 3366
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2011 12:40 am
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Postby kevforcity! » Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:02 pm

"sloper road legend" think what you say mate, butt, lad. "these foreigners??". I was born in Wales, of Indian heritage. The term "paki" is like to "us" (yes, Welsh of Indian or whatever descent), an insult. It's like calling someone from a district of Wales "white saxon pricks". IT IS INSULTING!! It was a term to tarn us all as though we are dirty. I hear some of my workers say it and I explain to them then they get it. ASK yourself this mate, if Vincent Tan was from Gelli would you still hate him???
kevforcity!

Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2014 10:52 pm
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Unread postby Cardiffcitymad » Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:52 pm

sloper_road_legend wrote:
Cardiffcitymad wrote:
Xcasual wrote:
Cardiffcitymad wrote:
What an earth is "a chinkies" ?


As if you didn't know

No actually I don't ! If you are going to start a thread that is inevitably going to make a bit of noise then at least get it right FFS!


More PC within a PC motivated thread

If you associated speciaoww 'fry rice' with Chinese in a chinese accent or use fake indian accent refering to curry your a racist in the public eye.

if you take the mick out of british norther british person, over northern gravy or a pork pie or something, they will laugh it off

These foreigners just havent got a sense of humour, its the same with the black or the white jokes

It's not just about joe public calling the local corner shop a "paki" shop, or calling a chinese meal a "chinky" Malky Mackay was in a Management position and was calling fellow staff and employees racist names this is what most people on here are forgetting!!
User avatar
Cardiffcitymad

Posts: 1537
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:13 am
Location: Pontypridd
Top
Re: Me and Er Indoors had a chinkies tonight.
Unread postby GotMeSingingTheBlues » Sun Nov 23, 2014 11:16 pm

OriginalGrangeEndBlue wrote:
Spot on.
That's the way I see it. I worked in England over the years & was often called Taff. It's never bothered me.
Chinese are chinks, Scots are jocks etc.


Exactly, we must all be racists at this rate.
GotMeSingingTheBlues

Posts: 675
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:33 pm

They are all delusional in my opinion, its just like some black conspiracy theory they think the whole world is out to get them!.
They are more excepted than our own origin in this country .

What happened to Blake 35-40 years ago may of happened but people were uneducated are small minded then.
For example we've only had the internet 28-30 years! crazy to think.

Also we've only had coloured TV's 50 odd years someone gonna tell that's because we were racist as well?

Oh yea Nathan,

I also grew up on a predominately white council estate in the 70's.

Llanrumney (bottom bit) so anyone who knows and / or remembers the area then will know there were lots of so called hard boys, nutters, fighters, etc, etc (lots of whom were avid city boys too).

I certainly don't remember BLAKEY's view of growing up on a council estate in the 70's

I remember lots of coloured (sorry black now for political correctness) kids, were mates, muckers, pals !!!

I personally had 2 close friends in school (Llanrumney high school) who were either Black or mixed race and we just all got on as boys growing up.

Things may have changed in the area after I left to Join the Navy in 1977, so I cannot comment on that.

From what I have seen and witnessed over this short eventful life of mine - we have all become too sensitive about ourselves, mainly caused by the liberal and loony left.

This "chip on my shoulder" poor me attitude by so many people of any colour or persuasion is damning in so many areas of our lives today.

Just my thoughts boys.

Blooobirds Forever !!

At end of the day if you as an employer (mm,) called a member of staff a name against their origins you get sacked ! No ifs or buts, use same in public place towards someone its a criminal offence! So why are people defending either person is a mystery!
Very poor to say it was in jest ect ect that's just making excuses!

They are all delusional in my opinion, its just like some black conspiracy theory they think the whole world is out to get them!.
They are more excepted than our own origin in this country .

What happened to Blake 35-40 years ago may of happened but people were uneducated are small minded then.
For example we've only had the internet 28-30 years! crazy to think.

Also we've only had coloured TV's 50 odd years someone gonna tell that's because we were racist as well?

F-ck me it was the 1970's not medieval Britain !!! ???

Malky Mackay and Dave Whelan: Cardiff City legend Nathan Blake on how his personal fight with racism has left him stunned by this week's events

Monday Nov 24, 2014

By Nathan Blake

"When I was a boy I grew up on a council estate in Newport. When I went out, I did not walk around the estate, I had to fight my way around." Nathan Blake talks emotionally about his literal fight with racism in the context of this week's events at Wigan Athletic.


Nathan Blake is angry about the events at Wigan this weekNathan Blake is angry about Malky Mackay's appointment and Dave Whelan's words
People wonder why I am so passionate when it comes to speaking out about racism, well, let me tell you.

When I was a boy I grew up on a council estate in Newport that was 99% white. When I went out, I did not walk around the estate, I had to fight my way around. Every day I would be targeted, often with actual violence more often with verbal insults. Imagine having to put up with that, not because of what you’ve said or what you’ve done, but all because of the colour of your skin.

Back then it was acceptable. In the 1970s it was on the TV, comedians like Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson used racist terms, Love Thy Neighbour was on and you know what people are like, especially kids, they copy what they see and hear on TV.

I have spent my adult life working to make sure that can never happen again, hoping that all that is finally in the dark and distant past. I’m really hopeful of change and there has been a shift in attitudes right across society, but one institution seems immune to that change and that is football.

The appointment of former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay as boss at Wigan and then the subsequent comments by Latics’ owner Dave Whelan have left me shocked, disappointed and, yes, angry too.

After the texts Mackay is said to have exchanged with his former head of recruitment at Cardiff, Iain Moody, many would question whether he should ever be allowed back into football at all, that he is back and with such haste is I think rather shocking.

Listen: Malky Mackay and Nathan Blake discuss racism in our studio in 2012


Mackay is still being investigated by the FA, for Whelan to just appoint him as manager, to bring him back into the game with so little thought, basically laughs in the face of that investigation. It totally trivialises it.

Whelan himself then came out in the press with comments that were incredibly derogatory, damaging and deeply racist. People then said he should not really be held to account because he is 77, he is of a different generation and does not know any better and I suppose you can accept that up to a point.

Whelan is 77, but Mackay is 42, the exact same age as me. There are no excuses for him.

I’ve seen people trying to defend Mackay by saying they were private messages between two friends. For me that is worse. It is in private that you reveal the person you truly are. In public, at work, at school, we project ourselves in a certain way, we have to, but it is in private communication with friends and family that we show what we really are.

People talk about these racial slurs as mere ‘banter,’ the League Managers’ Association actually used that phrase, we are told to ‘lighten up,’ it’s just a joke after all. But people who have never been on the receiving end of this hateful stuff or had a love one abused simply for the colour of their skin or their nationality cannot even begin to imagine the pain it causes. Those who have not suffered it have no right to tell us to ‘lighten up.’ It is not funny, it is not a banter, it is racism and it is wrong.

I just hope people who have friends who indulge in this sort of thing can be strong, can just step aside and not laugh along or ignore it for a quiet life. People being racist need to be stopped in their tracks, told it is wrong and not funny in the slightest. As we have seen with Mackay, only when confronted about their behaviour might they feel some shame or remorse.

Nathan Blake was idolised by the Cardiff City fans in the early 1990s

I’m not saying Mackay should never be allowed back into the game, but the job at Wigan has come way too soon. It is said he has had racial awareness training, but you can’t change a mind-set so quickly, it takes time and the education must mean that those who use these racist terms understand fully the impact it has on those they are insulting.

The problem right now is that football believes it is bigger than racism, people like Whelan think they can just do what they want because they own a football club, that they can brush aside the issues. They must be taught they cannot.

Racism is not just an issue anyway, it’s not an abstract thing, racism is about people, real people. It affects old people, children, mums and dads, sisters and brothers.

For me it’s about the young boy I was back in the 1970s. I had to endure what I put up with growing up, I had to carry that burden, a little scared kid worried about going outside the front door for fear of what he would find on the other side.

Now as a father I look at my own children and I worry, surely they are not going to have to go through what I did, they are not going to have to carry that fearful burden too. It concerns me and it should concern us all.

A good post and I have to say makes me look at things in a different way as I myself have said its banter and how it is, but it does make you realise well done Blakey for speaking out.

Malky Mackay and Dave Whelan: Cardiff City legend Nathan Blake on how his personal fight with racism has left him stunned by this week's events

Monday Nov 24, 2014

By Nathan Blake

"When I was a boy I grew up on a council estate in Newport. When I went out, I did not walk around the estate, I had to fight my way around." Nathan Blake talks emotionally about his literal fight with racism in the context of this week's events at Wigan Athletic.


Nathan Blake is angry about the events at Wigan this weekNathan Blake is angry about Malky Mackay's appointment and Dave Whelan's words
People wonder why I am so passionate when it comes to speaking out about racism, well, let me tell you.

When I was a boy I grew up on a council estate in Newport that was 99% white. When I went out, I did not walk around the estate, I had to fight my way around. Every day I would be targeted, often with actual violence more often with verbal insults. Imagine having to put up with that, not because of what you’ve said or what you’ve done, but all because of the colour of your skin.

Back then it was acceptable. In the 1970s it was on the TV, comedians like Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson used racist terms, Love Thy Neighbour was on and you know what people are like, especially kids, they copy what they see and hear on TV.

I have spent my adult life working to make sure that can never happen again, hoping that all that is finally in the dark and distant past. I’m really hopeful of change and there has been a shift in attitudes right across society, but one institution seems immune to that change and that is football.

The appointment of former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay as boss at Wigan and then the subsequent comments by Latics’ owner Dave Whelan have left me shocked, disappointed and, yes, angry too.

After the texts Mackay is said to have exchanged with his former head of recruitment at Cardiff, Iain Moody, many would question whether he should ever be allowed back into football at all, that he is back and with such haste is I think rather shocking.

Listen: Malky Mackay and Nathan Blake discuss racism in our studio in 2012


Mackay is still being investigated by the FA, for Whelan to just appoint him as manager, to bring him back into the game with so little thought, basically laughs in the face of that investigation. It totally trivialises it.

Whelan himself then came out in the press with comments that were incredibly derogatory, damaging and deeply racist. People then said he should not really be held to account because he is 77, he is of a different generation and does not know any better and I suppose you can accept that up to a point.

Whelan is 77, but Mackay is 42, the exact same age as me. There are no excuses for him.

I’ve seen people trying to defend Mackay by saying they were private messages between two friends. For me that is worse. It is in private that you reveal the person you truly are. In public, at work, at school, we project ourselves in a certain way, we have to, but it is in private communication with friends and family that we show what we really are.

People talk about these racial slurs as mere ‘banter,’ the League Managers’ Association actually used that phrase, we are told to ‘lighten up,’ it’s just a joke after all. But people who have never been on the receiving end of this hateful stuff or had a love one abused simply for the colour of their skin or their nationality cannot even begin to imagine the pain it causes. Those who have not suffered it have no right to tell us to ‘lighten up.’ It is not funny, it is not a banter, it is racism and it is wrong.

I just hope people who have friends who indulge in this sort of thing can be strong, can just step aside and not laugh along or ignore it for a quiet life. People being racist need to be stopped in their tracks, told it is wrong and not funny in the slightest. As we have seen with Mackay, only when confronted about their behaviour might they feel some shame or remorse.

Nathan Blake was idolised by the Cardiff City fans in the early 1990s

I’m not saying Mackay should never be allowed back into the game, but the job at Wigan has come way too soon. It is said he has had racial awareness training, but you can’t change a mind-set so quickly, it takes time and the education must mean that those who use these racist terms understand fully the impact it has on those they are insulting.

The problem right now is that football believes it is bigger than racism, people like Whelan think they can just do what they want because they own a football club, that they can brush aside the issues. They must be taught they cannot.

Racism is not just an issue anyway, it’s not an abstract thing, racism is about people, real people. It affects old people, children, mums and dads, sisters and brothers.

For me it’s about the young boy I was back in the 1970s. I had to endure what I put up with growing up, I had to carry that burden, a little scared kid worried about going outside the front door for fear of what he would find on the other side.

Now as a father I look at my own children and I worry, surely they are not going to have to go through what I did, they are not going to have to carry that fearful burden too. It concerns me and it should concern us all.

A good post and I have to say makes me look at things in a different way as I myself have said its banter and how it is, but it does make you realise well done Blakey for speaking out.

Absolutely correct.

We've all made these types of comments in the past but that doesn't make them right or defendable. It hurts people to be spoken about in derogatory terms just because of their colour/religion and makes it appear as if treating them in a different way is acceptable.

If anyone has been subjected to racism or any other form of discrimination they would understand.

Its true we probably all say or have said things that could be perceived as racists but we were not in the position MM was...my view is he has admitted guilt, so what is the FA investigation for? Wigan say they have the right to sack him if he is found guilty????? He has already admitted it? Very confusing...but in my view he should be on gardening leave or suspended at least until the FA have finally come to a decision...Wigan have jumped the gun here and are assuming the FA will do nothing.

Malky Mackay and Dave Whelan: Cardiff City legend Nathan Blake on how his personal fight with racism has left him stunned by this week's events

Monday Nov 24, 2014

By Nathan Blake

"When I was a boy I grew up on a council estate in Newport. When I went out, I did not walk around the estate, I had to fight my way around." Nathan Blake talks emotionally about his literal fight with racism in the context of this week's events at Wigan Athletic.


Nathan Blake is angry about the events at Wigan this weekNathan Blake is angry about Malky Mackay's appointment and Dave Whelan's words
People wonder why I am so passionate when it comes to speaking out about racism, well, let me tell you.

When I was a boy I grew up on a council estate in Newport that was 99% white. When I went out, I did not walk around the estate, I had to fight my way around. Every day I would be targeted, often with actual violence more often with verbal insults. Imagine having to put up with that, not because of what you’ve said or what you’ve done, but all because of the colour of your skin.

Back then it was acceptable. In the 1970s it was on the TV, comedians like Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson used racist terms, Love Thy Neighbour was on and you know what people are like, especially kids, they copy what they see and hear on TV.

I have spent my adult life working to make sure that can never happen again, hoping that all that is finally in the dark and distant past. I’m really hopeful of change and there has been a shift in attitudes right across society, but one institution seems immune to that change and that is football.

The appointment of former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay as boss at Wigan and then the subsequent comments by Latics’ owner Dave Whelan have left me shocked, disappointed and, yes, angry too.

After the texts Mackay is said to have exchanged with his former head of recruitment at Cardiff, Iain Moody, many would question whether he should ever be allowed back into football at all, that he is back and with such haste is I think rather shocking.

Listen: Malky Mackay and Nathan Blake discuss racism in our studio in 2012


Mackay is still being investigated by the FA, for Whelan to just appoint him as manager, to bring him back into the game with so little thought, basically laughs in the face of that investigation. It totally trivialises it.

Whelan himself then came out in the press with comments that were incredibly derogatory, damaging and deeply racist. People then said he should not really be held to account because he is 77, he is of a different generation and does not know any better and I suppose you can accept that up to a point.

Whelan is 77, but Mackay is 42, the exact same age as me. There are no excuses for him.

I’ve seen people trying to defend Mackay by saying they were private messages between two friends. For me that is worse. It is in private that you reveal the person you truly are. In public, at work, at school, we project ourselves in a certain way, we have to, but it is in private communication with friends and family that we show what we really are.

People talk about these racial slurs as mere ‘banter,’ the League Managers’ Association actually used that phrase, we are told to ‘lighten up,’ it’s just a joke after all. But people who have never been on the receiving end of this hateful stuff or had a love one abused simply for the colour of their skin or their nationality cannot even begin to imagine the pain it causes. Those who have not suffered it have no right to tell us to ‘lighten up.’ It is not funny, it is not a banter, it is racism and it is wrong.

I just hope people who have friends who indulge in this sort of thing can be strong, can just step aside and not laugh along or ignore it for a quiet life. People being racist need to be stopped in their tracks, told it is wrong and not funny in the slightest. As we have seen with Mackay, only when confronted about their behaviour might they feel some shame or remorse.

Nathan Blake was idolised by the Cardiff City fans in the early 1990s

I’m not saying Mackay should never be allowed back into the game, but the job at Wigan has come way too soon. It is said he has had racial awareness training, but you can’t change a mind-set so quickly, it takes time and the education must mean that those who use these racist terms understand fully the impact it has on those they are insulting.

The problem right now is that football believes it is bigger than racism, people like Whelan think they can just do what they want because they own a football club, that they can brush aside the issues. They must be taught they cannot.

Racism is not just an issue anyway, it’s not an abstract thing, racism is about people, real people. It affects old people, children, mums and dads, sisters and brothers.

For me it’s about the young boy I was back in the 1970s. I had to endure what I put up with growing up, I had to carry that burden, a little scared kid worried about going outside the front door for fear of what he would find on the other side.

Now as a father I look at my own children and I worry, surely they are not going to have to go through what I did, they are not going to have to carry that fearful burden too. It concerns me and it should concern us all.

Cringworthy Blakey.Get off the soapbox and stop winding up the liberals.

Its true we probably all say or have said things that could be perceived as racists but we were not in the position MM was...my view is he has admitted guilt, so what is the FA investigation for? Wigan say they have the right to sack him if he is found guilty????? He has already admitted it? Very confusing...but in my view he should be on gardening leave or suspended at least until the FA have finally come to a decision...Wigan have jumped the gun here and are assuming the FA will do nothing.

100% totally how I see it Corky.

At end of the day if you as an employer (mm,) called a member of staff a name against their origins you get sacked ! No ifs or buts, use same in public place towards someone its a criminal offence! So why are people defending either person is a mystery!
Very poor to say it was in jest ect ect that's just making excuses!

No you got that wrong... You end up in an industrial tribunal and rightly so!

It's so scary when white people decide racism doesn't exist anymore

"Well I can't see it, so it doesn't exist"

Fûck off! You are the problem.

It's so scary when white people decide racism doesn't exist anymore

"Well I can't see it, so it doesn't exist"

Fûck off! You are the problem.

Correct. Unfortunately, as the human race has gradually evolved over centuries, it seems to have left a very small percentage of people behind, and most of them seem to post on this forum. Just as well the majority moved with the times or we would still live in caves, carry our women over our shoulder while waving a club around at anyone who looked as if they wanted to steal your woman.

It's so scary when white people decide racism doesn't exist anymore

"Well I can't see it, so it doesn't exist"

Fûck off! You are the problem.

Spot on. It's arrogant too.
My dads mate was chased down the street by racists when he was young. And this wasn't the 70s it was the early 90s.
It's not an ancient problem.

It is wrong to use racial insults, but I suspect that I am not the only person who is concerned that in some cases there is a lot of focus on a few words while the persons actions are completely ignored.

During the discussions over Malky's alleged racism it all seems to boil down to a small number of emails and text messages. What I would like to know is how did Malky treat
- first team players?
- youth and development players?
- supporters?
- the media?
- other club staff?
If people of all races, colours, economic and social backgrounds report back that Malky treated them well and with respect, going out of his way to help the disadvantaged or those struggling to make an impact, then I believe we should accept his apologies over using some inappropriate words a few times.

I would rather this than have someone who appears to be politically correct and always doing and saying the right thing but in reality slyly blocks the progress of certain categories of people of a specific country, colour, religion or gender.

It is wrong to use racial insults, but I suspect that I am not the only person who is concerned that in some cases there is a lot of focus on a few words while the persons actions are completely ignored.

During the discussions over Malky's alleged racism it all seems to boil down to a small number of emails and text messages. What I would like to know is how did Malky treat
- first team players?
- youth and development players?
- supporters?
- the media?
- other club staff?
If people of all races, colours, economic and social backgrounds report back that Malky treated them well and with respect, going out of his way to help the disadvantaged or those struggling to make an impact, then I believe we should accept his apologies over using some inappropriate words a few times.

I would rather this than have someone who appears to be politically correct and always doing and saying the right thing but in reality slyly blocks the progress of certain categories of people of a specific country, colour, religion or gender.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/ibrah ... -egyptian/

Tan was right about Whelan and Malky, but totally wrong to lie to us and try to destroy our proud history and traditions. If Tan was from Splott I'd still be saying this.

What we need is a good episode of it ain't halh hot mum. Right then lovely boys!!!!!!!!

It's so scary when white people decide racism doesn't exist anymore

"Well I can't see it, so it doesn't exist"

Fûck off! You are the problem.

Correct. Unfortunately, as the human race has gradually evolved over centuries, it seems to have left a very small percentage of people behind, and most of them seem to post on this forum. Just as well the majority moved with the times or we would still live in caves, carry our women over our shoulder while waving a club around at anyone who looked as if they wanted to steal your woman.

When you say "as the human race has gradually evolved over centuries, it seems to have left a very small percentage of people behind etc" don't you mean the civilsed part of the world (like Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand)? Because I do not see much evolving (from what you later described ) going on in Iraq, Syria, Africa and Pakistan.

It is wrong to use racial insults, but I suspect that I am not the only person who is concerned that in some cases there is a lot of focus on a few words while the persons actions are completely ignored.

During the discussions over Malky's alleged racism it all seems to boil down to a small number of emails and text messages. What I would like to know is how did Malky treat
- first team players?
- youth and development players?
- supporters?
- the media?
- other club staff?
If people of all races, colours, economic and social backgrounds report back that Malky treated them well and with respect, going out of his way to help the disadvantaged or those struggling to make an impact, then I believe we should accept his apologies over using some inappropriate words a few times.

I would rather this than have someone who appears to be politically correct and always doing and saying the right thing but in reality slyly blocks the progress of certain categories of people of a specific country, colour, religion or gender.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/ibrah ... -egyptian/

So if Farah, is Welsh born and his parents come from Somalia, what is the Egyptian link?

It is wrong to use racial insults, but I suspect that I am not the only person who is concerned that in some cases there is a lot of focus on a few words while the persons actions are completely ignored.

During the discussions over Malky's alleged racism it all seems to boil down to a small number of emails and text messages. What I would like to know is how did Malky treat
- first team players?
- youth and development players?
- supporters?
- the media?
- other club staff?
If people of all races, colours, economic and social backgrounds report back that Malky treated them well and with respect, going out of his way to help the disadvantaged or those struggling to make an impact, then I believe we should accept his apologies over using some inappropriate words a few times.

I would rather this than have someone who appears to be politically correct and always doing and saying the right thing but in reality slyly blocks the progress of certain categories of people of a specific country, colour, religion or gender.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/ibrah ... -egyptian/

So if Farah, is Welsh born and his parents come from Somalia, what is the Egyptian link?

It is wrong to use racial insults, but I suspect that I am not the only person who is concerned that in some cases there is a lot of focus on a few words while the persons actions are completely ignored.

During the discussions over Malky's alleged racism it all seems to boil down to a small number of emails and text messages. What I would like to know is how did Malky treat
- first team players?
- youth and development players?
- supporters?
- the media?
- other club staff?
If people of all races, colours, economic and social backgrounds report back that Malky treated them well and with respect, going out of his way to help the disadvantaged or those struggling to make an impact, then I believe we should accept his apologies over using some inappropriate words a few times.

I would rather this than have someone who appears to be politically correct and always doing and saying the right thing but in reality slyly blocks the progress of certain categories of people of a specific country, colour, religion or gender.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/ibrah ... -egyptian/

So if Farah, is Welsh born and his parents come from Somalia, what is the Egyptian link?