After commentator John Motson was heard describing Millwall’s Tom Elliott as “big, black and brave”, fans took to Twitter to give their reaction…
Unless I misheard, John Motson just referred to a player as 'big, black and brave' on @talkSPORT Not sure what race has to do with football…
— Villa Views (@VillaViews_) February 16, 2019
I see John Motson has been reprimanded for calling a footballer "big, black and brave". I bet there are black guys who'd proudly wear that on a t-shirt. Since when did highlighting someone's colour for reference become a crime?
— Papa Bendibus (@PapaBendibus) February 18, 2019
Worst thing talkSPORT have done is get that weird nonce John Motson involved.
— Manbearpig (@Fxlch1) February 16, 2019
Why is John Motson still doing commentary he's completely past it. Just rambles on and keeps no track of the game – should have stayed retired from the BBC @talkSPORT
— James (@BeaumontJame) February 16, 2019
What is wrong with calling someone big black and brave? You won’t be able to say young gifted and black soon.
— Brian Deane (@deanobri1968) February 18, 2019
Sorry but did John Motson just describe Millwall’s striker as ‘big and black’? #talksport
— Luke Phelps (@lukephelps_) February 16, 2019
The social media reaction to the story continued, there were many in defence of John Motson however…
John Motson…I could swear that I just heard you call a player 'big, brave and black' on @talkSPORT. Surely skin colour didn't need to be mentioned?
— Matt Buckle (@thebuckleboy183) February 16, 2019
When does saying someone is big black and brave amount to racism? it's a statement of fact, Q. Is he big (yes he's 6ft 4in) Q. Is he black (yes that describes his ethnicity) Q. Is he brave (according to John Motson yes) IMO it sounds like a compliment not an insult.
— SpiritSamba (@MarkAnt72) February 19, 2019
I don’t actually see what’s wrong with that, surely a compliment? It’s a perfectly respectable adjective. We’ve gone PC mad.
— Tony The Coat (@tonyblue1905) February 18, 2019
This is actually ridiculous.
— Daniel Crawley (@Dancrawley87) February 18, 2019
Honestly, is this racist? Tom Elliot is all three of those things, and John Motson is praising him?I’m certain there wouldnt be a race argument if Jamie Carragher called Jack Colback ‘Small, ginger and strong’ .. @ me https://t.co/DQ7KgvguQV
— harry? (@harrykenny40) February 19, 2019
I understand that it's not racist to call a black person black and I'm sure that John Motson didn't mean anything by it. However, being black in no way impacts your footballing ability and should not have used it to describe his style of play. A slap on the wrist is fair. https://t.co/K6RciIhFat
— Callum Toone (@toonecallum) February 19, 2019
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