Basketball star It’s time to speak out about abuse
Basketball star Kieron Achara said people now have to speak out if they see or hear racism.
The 6ft 10in Olympian has admitted he regrets ignoring the taunts he and his brother got as children growing up in Stirling because they simply wanted to fit in.
The Glasgow Rocks player, who has represented Scotland and Great Britain, said: “We had a man who used to come to my window and shout abuse and tell us to go back to where we came from any time something happened to him.
“My brother got the whole, ‘There ain’t no black in the Union Jack.’
“I would hear the n-word and I just used to let it go. Because I just wanted to fit in.
“And the realisation now is that I should have spoken up at those times and just said, ‘That’s not right.’”
Kieron, 36, who played basketball in the US, added: “Being black in America, you’re judged straight away. Not because of your background. It’s because assumptions are made from your colour.
“We have to work on that, even in Scotland.”
Kieron Achara heard the obnoxious words poison the air then felt the venom sting his ears and his heart.
The throwaway names and catchphrases uttered as a supposed joke that left him weeping and cowering on the inside.
Like it or not, the future Great Britain basketball captain stood out as a boy in Stirling because he sprouted up to be super-sized.
But as a mixed-race kid with a surname inherited from his Nigerian dad, he felt compelled to soak up the tiny droplets of casual racism rather than lashing angrily back.
He said: “Growing up, I wasn’t called names every day.
“My older brother suffered more racist abuse than I did.
“But we had a man who used to come to my window and shout abuse and tell us to go back to where we came from anytime something happened to him.
“My brother got the whole: ‘There ain’t no black in the Union Jack.’ I would hear the N-word and used to let it go because I just wanted to fit in.
“And I realise now that I should have spoken up at those times and just said: ‘That’s not right!’”
The 36-year-old, whose career took him all over the globe before he retired last summer, is no longer content to let the hate slide.
The death of George Floyd while being arrested by cops in Minneapolis has forced the whole world to take a long, hard look at itself. It’s a black or white issue for Achara – either you’re against racism or you’re part of the problem.
But his own time playing in America taught him that the subtle specks of bias are coated in many shades of grey.
He said: “I was interested in football. And people would say: ‘Soccer is a white thing to do.’
“And I’m thinking: ‘Woah, it’s the number one sport in the world. It’s huge in Africa, huge everywhere.’
“But it was just kind of how things were labelled. That’s black, that’s white.
“Then later I had a girlfriend in the States who was white. And she was never allowed to tell her grandparents that we were together. So I had to act like we were just friends.
“At the time I was an Academic All-American. Captaining the basketball team. Good student. Worked hard.
“But then I found out her ex-boyfriend had been selling drugs at one point.
“And he was accepted. He was white. Just because of the colour of my skin, I was automatically not accepted.”
Racism, Achara is quick to underline, was often a two-way street. Centuries of internal divisions and deep inequality within the USA have left deeper splits than he’d ever expected.
He said: “You could probably compare it to back in the day with Catholics and Protestants in Scotland – you don’t date a Catholic girl or you don’t go out with a Protestant boy or whatever. I think things have moved on from there.
“In the States, it’s not as progressive as you think.
“Everyone talks about this big melting pot of diversity. But it’s more mosaic and sectioned off.
“There’s not a lot of mixing. I even had a coach who was black who had a Mexican wife. Neither of their families accepted that.”
Which means the explosion of rage in the States since Floyd’s senseless death on May 25 is hardly a surprise.
“It has been building up and building up – it’s magnified and has exploded,” he says.
“George Floyd is not the (only) reason why these protests are happening. It’s a combination of things.”
People are simply tired t of not being heard. h Black Lives Matter. M Prejudice cannot c be tolerated, whether w across the Atlantic or closer to home. h
He said: “It has opened o a can of worms. w ws But at the same time, it’s something that needs to be addressed.
“I’m working for a mental health ppa provider called Frog and a I’m actually getting stories of racism r and hearing about a it.
“You listen to Show Racism The Red Card and groups like BEMIS who have been fighting for this for years in Scotland, trying to educate and help people understand.
“Some people just don’t think they need to know because they don’t think it actually happens.”
The hard and unfiltered reaction to the debate has made him look again at some of the people in his own circle. Either you’re with us – or against me, Kieron declares.
He said: “I’m starting to question a lot of the groups I know, the people that I know.
“And I’m asking have they had a undertone of thinking racist things or feeling that they are superior to other people?”
We must do more – and better, he stresses.
The race issue might not be as in your face in Scotland as in the USA. But Achara insists inequality and bias
In America, I was told soccer was a white thing to do. But that’s just kind of how things were labelled – that’s black, that’s white. The States are not as progressive as you think. George Floyd is not the reason these protests are happening. It’s been building up ... and now it’s exploded
are a plague that we must all protest loudly until the volume drowns out the words of hate.
He said: “Being black in America, you’re judged straight away. Not because of your background. Assumptions are made from your colour.
“We need to work on that, even in Scotland. We judge people on where they stay. People from wealthier backgrounds, you can’t look at them and say: ‘Oh, well, you must be a certain way because of this.’
“And it’s the same for people from poorer backgrounds. There is that whole judgmental aspect. But if you start talking to people more and more, you start to find that common ground.”