A Quote by John Barnes
Football can do nothing about getting rid of racism. Society can.
Related Quotes
The truth is that those at the top of British football do not care about getting rid of racism, they just don't want to hear it or see it.
Meditation is a process of getting rid of the whole past, of getting rid of all diseases, of getting rid of all the pus that has gathered in you. It is painful, but it is cleansing, and there is no other way to cleanse you.
I don't understand racism. I have many black friends and many others have been my opponents. Respect is basic. Unfortunately racism is a social problem, and football belongs to society.
Racial problems can't be easily reconciled with a pat account about racism and discrimination that lets us sort of relax into saying when we finally get this right, when we get rid of racism, when we reach the post-racial society, everything is going to be okay. Well, no, because along the way here, as we've not yet been in this racial nirvana, facts on the ground have been created.
As I've been saying for decades, as long as racism exists in society, it will exist in all facets of society. Until we eradicate it from society, football will be like any other industry.
If punk was about getting rid of hippies, then I'm getting rid of grunge.
I don't differentiate between racism in football to racism in life so, therefore, as a football manager I knew that I would get racist abuse.
If every racist who came to football was silenced, football stadiums would still be full of racists. Racism is everywhere in our society, it is inside every one of us.
Racism - whether it's in football or society, there's absolutely no place for it.
We have to look at it holistically and as a whole and say let us tackle racism or discrimination in life. Then you can look to get rid of it in football.
I think getting rid of my leg was getting rid of the past and getting ready for my journey ahead.
When you talk about kicking racism out of football, people automatically assume you are talking about on the terraces and on the football field. But all racists have to do is keep their mouth shut for 90 minutes and they're fine.
Racism should be viewed as an intervening variable. You give me a set of conditions and I can produce racism in any society. You give me a different set of conditions and I can reduce racism. You give me a situation where there are a sufficient number of social resources so people don't have to compete for those resources, and I will show you a society where racism is held in check.
What people often mean by getting rid of conflict is getting rid of diversity, and it is of the utmost importance that these should not be considered the same.
The thing is, getting rid of racism is a cultural thing that takes decades. It's not something we can solve immediately. Structural changes have to happen in our culture.
How are we going to get rid of racism? Stop talking about it!
