Kim Sears: The acceptable face of xenophobia?

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Imagine for a second if a family member of the Czech tennis star Tomas Berdych had been caught on camera calling Andy Murray a, “ Scot’s Flash f...k“.  Worse still, imagine what dogs of hell would be unleashed if, for example Serena Williams father Richard, would be caught on camera with a similar remark towards any player?

At yet it seems as though Andy Murray’s girlfriend Kim Sears has almost made a virtue from her foul mouthed xenophobic rant, in which she is clearly seen calling the Czech tennis player, a ‘Czech flash f...’

That people swear, particularly in the heat of a moment is regrettable and undesirable, but it can be forgiven-many of us have done that. But to racialise that abuse is something altogether different, and certainly should not be ignored and much less applauded, as many of have done over the last few days.

Reading some of the thousands of comments and many commentators it’s clear that Kim Sears has gone up in many people’s estimation, as a feisty girlfriend defending her man, as if he was under verbal attack from Berdych or his family in the first place.

The fact Sear’s was racially abusive is by and large ignored. Why is that the case?

I think for two distinct reasons: First, because of who it is; Kim Sears is a university educated and an attractive woman. And of course she is the fiancée of our British tennis hero Andy Murray. With that cocktail, our society is more likely to see the positive-fighting for her man, spirit, and less likely to see the negative-xenophobic outburst that occurred. Secondly, right now we have a toxic immigration debate that too readily pours scorn on foreigners particularly those from Eastern Europe. That, in part makes it more acceptable to some.

But xenophobic remarks particularly when they’re so public - and as it seems everyone is talking about them - cannot be easily dismissed. To laugh and smile at Sear’s comments is to be complicit in there acceptence.

As decency goes if Kim Sears would have sent out a short statement stating that, ‘in that moment I did think that Berdych was a ‘Flash f...’, but it was certainly not right for me to refer to his race’, I think most people could then applaud her for the feisty support of her fiancé.  However, ignoring or acceptancing xenophobic comments not only demeans the abuser, her in this case, but also those who believe that what she said was not racially wrong.

Simon Woolley

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