…Former Player Seeks Legal Counsel
By Iretomiwa Jagunna
Former Chelsea FC and Three lionesses of England star, Eni Aluko, recently reviewed leaving the United Kingdom because of mean comments from Joey Barton on the internet.
Barton, a football Newcastle Fc player and currently a pundit on TV has been saying rude things about women who comment on men’s football.
He recently said unpleasant things about Aluko and Lucy Ward while they discussed a football match on ITV. Barton compared them to some very bad people, Fred and Rose West, who hurt and have killed many women in time past.
In an Instagram video, Aluko talked about feeling really scared and having to migrate to remain safe. She elaborated on how unkind remarks online can harm an individual and detailed consequence of hate speech, racism, and sexism in sports broadcasting. Aluko shared that she genuinely felt in danger and was concerned about a culture in football creates fear in people trying to do their jobs.
Stuart Andrew, a sports minister in Britain, said Joey Barton’s comments were really bad and promised to talk to social media companies to stop that kind of behavior.
Andrew explained during a meeting of how Barton’s words appeared serious and further express how he was willing to work with social media platforms to fix the problem. Aluko admitted talking to a lawyer and talked about how saying mean things can have consequences, stating that “freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can say anything without consequences”.
