Return worries Heskey
FEAR FOR BAME STARS
EMILE HESKEY admits he would be “100 per cent concerned” about returning to football if he was playing as coronavirus wreaks havoc in the BAME community.
The reasons for the disproportionately high number of Covid-19 deaths among the black, Asian and ethnic minorities are being investigated by a Public Health England task force.
And former Leicester, Liverpool and England striker Heskey, 42, said: “If I was playing football, 100 per cent I’d be concerned about that sort of thing. I live with four kids.
“We’ve got to look at the underlying problems within those groups.
“My grandad passed away, it would be two years come December and he had diabetes, high blood pressure, all these things. These are the problems that we have.
“Some of us don’t even know we’re walking around with them. My eldest kids are sickle cell trait as well. What happens with them? Are they at risk?
“I’ve started to look at my diet to make sure I get out and do something.
“You get away with a lot when you’re playing because you’re fit. But when you’re not, you have to take care of yourself more. I would say my mum’s healthier than me.”
A number of Premier League stars have voiced their concerns about football restarting next month, with June 8 earmarked for games to resume.
Around a third of the Premier League’s players are black, Asian or ethnic minority.
NHS England figures released last week revealed that hospital deaths among British people of a black Caribbean background were three times that among the equivalent number of the white British population. Patients from black African backgrounds in England and Wales are also dying at a similar rate.
Kick It Out’s head of development Troy Townsend, whose son Andros plays for Crystal Palace, said: “These are issues that typically affect black people. I’m sorry, there’s no way that football will appreciate, understand and be able to put measures in place to look after the players.
“That’s why it’s a massive medical concern. They are talking about tests but the tests are for the coronavirus. Not for the other issues that they may have.
“What if someone has passed away in their families and they’re concerned?
“This is why it’s not as easy as arranging a football match and saying, ‘Let’s just go and play’.”