It probably shouldn’t have been a surprise, in truth.
Given that we live in a world where admitting to repeated sexual assault is no barrier to becoming President of the United States, so the SFA’s decision to appoint Malky Mackay as Performance Director is just the way this planet appears to be heading right now.
Let’s leave aside what a pathetic failure he was in his last job at Wigan. To be perfectly honest, his talents are not relevant. If they were, we’d have to create some sort of system to ascertain how talented someone would be before we were willing to overlook any of their prejudices.
His ability, or lack thereof, are not the issue here.
If anything, the reaction from certain quarters has angered me more than the appointment itself.
The circumstances of Mackay’s departure from Cardiff have at best been glossed over, and at worst has never even been mentioned. This is absolute journalistic cowardice. Are they hoping we might have forgotten? I realise certain people were touting their pal for the top job all along, but don’t insult our intelligence by rewriting history.
You’re no longer journalists, guys. You’re cheerleaders. And you insult us all by pretending that there is not a massive fucking bigoted elephant in the room. What the fuck are you all so afraid of?
And yet, on the hagiographies went.
Mackay was described on Sportsound as “an excellent networker with great people skills”, and at the same time his agent (perhaps unsurprisingly) described him as “a talented individual and a good man with good values who wants to get back to work”, which if nothing else proves that the death of irony has been greatly exaggerated.
More strangely, Show Racism the Red Card said Mackay had undergone equality and diversity training, and “wished him well”.
Perhaps “Allow Racism To Have A Short Rehabilitation Period And Let’s Forget It Ever Happened” is a more appropriate title going forward. “Show Racism Some Mild Disapproval And Then Move On”, perhaps. “Ignore Racism When It Comes From Proper Football Men Who Have Spent Some Time In A Classroom”, maybe?
Lord Ouseley, the founder and chairman of the Kick It Out anti-racism group, said he believed Mackay now had a “better understanding” of diversity issues and deserved a second chance. Well, that’s a relief. He now knows racism is bad as he spent some time in a classroom being told that racism is bad.
Most of us manage to be Not Racist without ever having to be re-educated to that effect, but let’s not worry about that.
He also said Mackay’s new role would give him an opportunity to “put himself back in a state where he can prove that he is a good person, and a person capable of performing both in football terms, and how he treats people”.
Excellent. The SFA are now using the Performance Director role to enable discredited people to launder their reputations.
As, based on the deferential reception Mackay was getting, I was beginning to doubt my own senses, I decided to seek out these infamous text messages. Had I imagined them? Let’s revisit them:
On the arrival of South Korean international Kim Bo-Kyung:
“Fkn chinkys. Fk it. There’s enough dogs in Cardiff for us all to go around.”
On football agent Phil Smith:
“Go on, fat Phil. Nothing like a Jew that sees money slipping through his fingers”
On transfer target list:
“Not many white faces amongst that lot but worth considering.”
On a player’s female agent:
“I hope she’s looking after your needs. I bet you’d love a bounce on her falsies.”
On an official at another club:
“He’s a snake, a gay snake. Not to be trusted”
To members of Cardiff’s staff:
A picture entitled ‘Black Monopoly’ – where every square was a “Go to Jail” square
So that’s (deep breath) racism, anti-Semitism, racism again, sexism, homophobia, and racism again.
Your new Performance Director, ladies and gentlemen!
We’ve all made mistakes, of course. But these aren’t mistakes. Reversing into another car is a mistake. Drinking too much and falling down some stairs is a mistake. Losing your keys is a mistake.
Repeated bigotry over a prolonged period of time is not a mistake. It’s a reflection of your character.
Given the appalling and ignorant treatment of Ian Cathro last week, a man who may have no playing experience, but is not, as far as anyone is aware, racist, homophobic, sexist or anti-Semitic, it shows where the priorities lie.
A man is judged as having poor man management on how he apparently behaved on a coaching course seven years ago, but a man who sent a that Black Monopoly picture three years ago? He’s fine, apparently. No problems. He understands players. He can manage people. He’s not one of those bloody hipsters.
Until he has to manage someone black, or Jewish, or gay, or female, presumably.
He’s a Proper Football Man. A fully paid up member of the Old Boys Club that is Scottish football. Mark Warburton thinks he’ll be a success, and if we can’t trust a former City trader, who can we trust?
Warburton also accused Mackay’s critics of “lazy journalism”, which even for a man not averse from saying idiotic things is quite the statement. I guess accusing a man who has sent racist text messages of being racist is lazy by definition.
It’s lazy to judge a man purely on the basis of the things he says and does. Show a bit more imagination, guys.
Mind you, give the songbook Warburton has to hear from his own club’s supporters every week, he’s evidently a man with a very high tolerance thershold.
Besides, Mackay sent hundreds of text messages, and only a few of them were prejudiced.
The football community is closing ranks.
The football community can fuck off.
I am reminded of the old joke about the retiring town councillor, who in his leaving speech complained that despite his 40 years of distinguished public service and his many charitable donations, “You shag one sheep, and it’s all anyone ever wants to talk about”.
I do not know if Malky Mackay owns a laptop. If he does, given the state of his text messages I really wouldn’t want to see his emails.
When you boil it right down, the SFA have given the job of Performance Director to a man who while he was Cardiff manager did not appear to be aware that racism, anti Semitism, homophobia and sexism were Bad Things until he was sent on a training course. Which would, at the very least, suggest his judgement is rather lacking.
Besides, these text messages were sent in private. He felt able to broadcast his prejudices in the knowledge that no-one else would ever see them, or so he thought. This is his brain. Unedited. These are the thoughts of a man who thought no-one would ever know what he was saying, and makes any protestation of rehabilitation rather meaningless.
He never really apologised, anyway. After a risible attempt to explain away the messages as “banter”, he issued that classic non-apology of “I apologise if anyone was offended”, which always places the onus on anyone who was offended rather than the remarks themselves.
We were not offended. You were offensive. Not the same thing.
He also claimed that he was stressed. I’m no expert, but I am fairly sure that racism is not a side effect of being stressed. Still, as I have never managed a football club, and am therefore not a Proper Football Person, what would I know?
He wrote those messages, and sent them, while at no point ever considering that they may have been inappropriate. Maybe because he didn’t think they were inappropriate.
The text messages were a window into his mind, his beliefs, his values.
Mind you, he hadn’t yet spent any time in from of a blackboard being told this type of behaviour was prejudiced, so how was he to know?
If any club wanted to appoint Mackay, that’s their lookout. It would be for that club’s fans to decide whether it was acceptable.
But this is different. He has been appointed at Performance Director for the Scottish Football Association. He will be responsible for the development of Scottish football. All of it. Including any Scottish players who may be black, or gay, or Jewish, or female. At this level a higher standard should be expected. If not delivered.
From my own point of view, you know what the worst thing about this is?
I want him to fail.
It disgusts me that I am reduced to this level, to be so consumed by hate. Not quite on the scale Mackay was, but hate nonetheless. Hatred of my national association for appointing this man.
I am a fan of Scottish football, and here I am in the position that I want the man in charge of the development of the game in this country to fail. If he fails, Scottish football continues to fail. I’m beginning to doubt I will live to see Scotland in another major tournament, and that saddens me.
But, to take the contrary view, Scotland’s success is his success. If he makes a success of the job, and if Scottish football has an unlikely renaissance on his watch, I won’t be able to see past the man who talked of “gay snakes” and “fucking Chinks”. Every word that comes out of his mouth will be tainted like, to use a Bill Hicks phrase, a turd falling into my drink. So I don’t want him to succeed. I do not want Scottish football to be polluted by this excuse for a man.
The next time you see a “Show Racism The Red Card” display, remember it’s all fucking lies. If the SFA were truly committed to this premise, they wouldn’t be appointing Mackay.
Rainbow laces to make a stand against homophobia? Bullshit. Not when our Performance Director has referred to the scourge of gay snakes.
We’re against anti-Semitism in football? Great. But wait, our Performance Director has felt comfortable enough in the recent past to use the most pathetic and cliched anti-Semitic tropes imaginable. So that’s evidently lip service at best.
Sexism? Given the recent success of the Scotland women’s team, I can only hope Mackay is not too distracted by the thought of “bouncing on their falsies” to try and build on that success. I just hope he is able to look after their needs.
This is the message the Scottish FA have chosen to project by appointing Malky Mackay. It shames them, and as Scottish football fans it shames all of us too.
Some things are beyond rehabilitation.
It’s alright, though. It’s only banter.
sarto mutiny 