Rein in your Ryan rants
Ross: Pundits can’t slag off players then bang on about mental health
HIBS manager Jack Ross insists the country’s pundits need to rein in their criticism after Ryan Porteous was subjected to sickening abuse on social media in the wake of his red card at Rangers.
This week it emerged that the defender, who was ordered off in this month’s 2-1 defeat for a reckless tackle on Joe Aribo, had been sent sectarian and homophobic messages.
While disgusted by what Porteous has had to put up with, Ross also believes former pros also have a duty of care when slagging off players, especially when they are also quick to highlight mental health issues.
Ross did not mention any names but Craig Levein’s comments raised eyebrows when he claimed it would not be long before players were taken to court for wild challenges. Neil McCann also said Porteous was trying “to do” Aribo.
The Hibs boss said: “Each and every person who comments on football has their own personality, their own character and their own belief in the way they should articulate opinion.
“I’m not saying that there’s any way that’s right or wrong because people will disagree with my opinion and the way I articulate it.
“But I think they should be mindful of the fact that a lot of these same people will then be quick to highlight mental health issues within the game.
“I can listen to a programme and they’ll talk about Ryan and then the next again night they’re talking about mental health within players.
“I mean, bloody hell. There’s a way to discuss an opinion and offer opinion.
“I’m not asking it not to be done; I’ve got no problem with people discussing any of our players’ level of ability or something to do with a game but I think sometimes we can, not always intentionally, use language that is not entirely accurate.
“I can’t say for certain whether that stokes a more aggressive reaction from people but I would hazard a guess that it doesn’t help defuse any situation.”
Ross admits even he was left stunned by the level of the abuse dished out to Porteous online.
He added: “I saw a lot of things over the past week that were beyond the pale for me.
“A lot of what he received, and I saw it first hand, would have dominated headlines.
“I don’t think we should differentiate between different kinds of abuse. It is a dangerous road to go down if we differentiate between different types of abuse and suggest people are affected in different ways. We’ve a long way to go in this country, particularly with sectarian abuse.
“I have seen sectarian abuse, homophobic abuse, people telling him they want him to die in various different ways – people telling him they hope he dies of a tumour – and none of it is pleasant, particularly for a 22-year-old lad.
“And, it is based on a tackle, and I can accept opinion on whether it is a bad tackle or not, a red card or not, but it was a tackle.”