Chairman: GAA out to eradicate racism

KERRY County Committee Chairman Tim Murphy has utterly and wholeheartedly condemned the racist abuse that former Kerry minor footballers, Stefan Okunbor and Franz Sauerland, have suffered on the playing fields of the Kingdom.

Na Gaeil clubman Okunbor (pictured), now a professional athlete with the Geelong Cats in the AFL, confirmed over the weekend that he had been called a ‘black b ***** d’ and been the victim of taunting with monkey noises, while An Ghaeltacht’s Sauerland said that he was told to ‘go back to your cotton fields.’

Speaking to The Kerryman on Tuesday, Mr Murphy was appalled by the revelations from two players who have worn the green and gold jersey.

“I felt awfully disappointed when I heard it, not just because of what was said, but because, unfortunately, that this is still prevalent in today’s society,” he said.

“With my Kerry Chairman’s hat on and off, I would wholeheartedly and utterly condemn any act of racism of any description.

“It is awfully disappointing to hear and, while it’s a small minority that are engaging in this sort of behaviour, we have seen that events in recent weeks in the USA have brought it sharply into focus.

“There is a lot of work going on in Kerry and in the GAA as a whole by way of education programmes, with the ‘Give Respect, Get Respect’ initiative. Education is the key in the future to stamp out this unacceptable behaviour.

“Again, I would condemn it wholeheartedly in every sense of the word, and we would disassociate ourselves with any part of it.

“With greater education, with more people putting it out there in the public domain, please God we will soon eradicate it from society,” stressed Mr Murphy.