After the protests we witnessed in the NFL yesterday, and knowing I was going to write this article today about a Manchester City pioneer I thought, what a coincidence.
Then I got to thinking, when hasn’t racism been an issue in sports, particularly football.
Growing up in the 1980’s it was always right there, not so much bubbling under the surface, but fully out in the open. Chants accepted as part of the game, and no mention of incidents on the back pages.
I thought those mentalities towards certain players would have changed over the years. Today it seems, despite numerous campaigns, that we are no closer to actually ‘kicking’ racism out of football.
For Stan Horne, who made his debut for Manchester City on this day in 1965, he didn’t see himself as a pioneer. The first black player for Manchester City took his position on the pitch as City beat Derby County 1-0, at Maine Road.
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It was Joe Mercers first season with us in Division Two. It was not Hornes first time as his sides first black player. Mercer had bought him from Aston Villa, where he was their first player of colour before selling him to Fulham, where he became theirs.
Joe Mercer had been his manager at Villa before exiting due to ill health. It was a similar situation for Horne, with high blood pressure the concern this time. This lead Mercer to go in for the player a second time.
During his time, at all clubs throughout his career, he had to deal with racist comments. Not just from fans, but also some managers and other players. Stan would have a reasonably successful career despite the knocks, including 50 appearances for the blues.
His last game came in 1968, at home to West Brom. Months later, City would lift the League title. An achilles tendon injury bringing an end to his City career. He retired from football aged 31 in 1975 and, despite all the clubs he played for, only kept involved with City.
But is it a surprise that this problem hasn’t been tackled properly? It is in small part thanks to stupidly minor punishments being handed out to sides found guilty of such offences.
Next: We are seeing the Pep machine in action
Small fines and token gestures towards eradicating racism in the game just isn’t good enough. Comparing racism fines with the one of Nicklas Bendtner ($130,000), who revealed the top of his underwear with a sponsors name across the band. The penalty for racist abuse? A small fine and partial stadium closure for their next Champions League home game.