SRtRC Statement on the racist abuse of Joe Willock

The language used by the person who contacted Joe Willock on Instagram following Newcastle United’s victory over Crystal Palace is as extreme as we at Show Racism the Red Card can recall seeing perpetrated on social media in relation to a professional footballer.

The language betrays the feelings of the individual about black people – reinforcing the most extreme racial stereotypes about propensity for violence, ‘cultural practices’ and cleanliness.

We sincerely hope that the inclusion of death threats means that this case will be treated with the utmost seriousness by the Police, and we commend Joe Willock for his bravery in once again highlighting the abuse that he has faced as a public figure – something that he has sadly been subjected to on many, many occasions.

We also commend Newcastle United FC for their swift and unequivocal condemnation and reporting of the incident, which we hope will see the individual responsible brought to justice, and which has also helped raise awareness about the responsibilities of Meta, and social media platforms like Instagram to do more to prevent the transmission of such horrific racial abuse.

In previous instances of abuse towards professional sports people or public figures on social media, some people have sought to excuse the behaviour as a ‘one off’ or as an emotionally charged reaction to an individual.

Show Racism the Red Card believes that the language used in this case is indicative of extremely harmful views towards black people held by the perpetrator, and therefore believes that the person responsible is not only a threat to Joe Willock, but also to other black people within society.

It is therefore important for people to consider that if someone is prepared to share such abhorrent views on social media, that these views are deeply entrenched and reflective of the individual’s wider views about black people. The language used echoes the rapidly increasing sentiments being shared in relation to immigration, asylum and ‘Britishness’ by some sections of society, and should therefore not be treated as developing within a vacuum.

We encourage all individuals to reflect on the impact of sharing racist and prejudicial views in-person and online and the effect that this has on normalising hate speech and emboldening what we still believe to be a minority of people to act in ways which have real-world consequences for individuals like Joe, and others who could be targeted based on their skin colour, nationality, religion or culture.