Pardon me for a parochial comment (about cricket and about South Africa), but this caught my eye…
Dean Jones, the former Australia Test batsman turned TV commentator, has been sacked by his employers, Ten Sports, after calling Hashim Amla a ‘terrorist’ on live television during the fourth day’s play between Sri Lanka and South Africa at Colombo. When Amla, who is a devout Muslim, complete with full beard, took the catch to dismiss Sangakkara, Jones was heard to say “the terrorist has got another wicket”.
Jones is distraught and repentent (see his statement below), but he is also fired. In a connected and flat world like the one we live in, you can’t get away with any form of prejudice like that. And public commentators (of any sort) cannot get away with private prejudice for too long either (long live the impending death of spin doctors everywhere!!).

Jones’ comment:
“It was a silly and completely insensitive thing to say and, obviously, it was never supposed to be heard over the air. I am truly sorry to have caused offence to anybody and the last thing I intended was to be disrespectful.
“Everyone needs to get away from perpetuating the myth, publicly and privately, that beards associated with the Muslim faith are somehow suspicious, and I intend to do exactly that. The irony is that I am great friends with most of the Pakistan team and they are all Muslims.
“I have no end of respect for the Muslim faith – that’s why I’m so sorry at making such a stupid comment,” he said. “It does not represent who I am, how I think or what I believe. I will be the first person to apologise to Hashim as soon as I get the chance, and I will assure him that prejudice against anybody, on any basis, is unacceptable and not something I will ever condone.”

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