Sometimes a headline really says it all. And this one certainly does that. Still, let’s dig into the details of this crazy tale. London police charged the Australian soccer captain, Sam Kerr, with a racially-aggravated offense against an officer, according to several outlets.
“The charge relates to an incident involving a police officer who was responding to a complaint involving a taxi fare on 30 January 2023 in Twickenham,” a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said, according to the BBC. Kerr pleaded not guilty to the charge on Monday.
Kerr is the captain of the Australian Women’s National Soccer Team, and she also plays for the London-based club, Chelsea, in the Women’s Super League – the women’s equivalent to the men’s English Premier League.
Former NBA champion Andrew Bogut took to X to point out the irony in Kerr being charged with a racially-motivated crime. At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Kerr and her teammates linked arms to “fight racism” … or something.
It’s unclear what prompted the “racially-motivated” charge against Kerr. However, according to an interview she gave to the BBC in August 2023, she commonly feels as though life is difficult as a “dark-skinned” person.
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Kher was born in Australia to an Indian father and an Australian mother.
“I'm really proud to be Indian and love the color of my skin and my 'Indian complexion,'” she told the BBC in 2023.
“I have listened to my Nana and my father’s stories about moving to Australia and feeling like an outsider and having to break into society at a time when it was not very multicultural. “He taught me a lot,” she continued.
“It was hard for my father to be accepted as a dark-skinned man in Australia. Hearing what they went through really influenced me and taught me to accept people for who they are.”
As mentioned above, Mr. Kerr maintains his “innocence” and we should proceed with the legal process before passing judgment. However, police apparently felt they had enough evidence to at least pursue charges of racially motivated crimes.
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If Carr is convicted, perhaps she will need to change her attitude about “racism.” Perhaps she needs to make it clearer that she really only cares about racism against certain people.
To other people, she probably thinks it's okay or even encouraged.