Micah Richards has hit back at social media users who claim he is only getting jobs due to Black Lives Matter.
The former Manchester City defender has become a prominent football pundit since hanging up his boots in 2019.
Yet he was trending on social media following the departures of Matt Le Tissier, Charlie Nicholas and Phil Thompson from Soccer Saturday.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Richards said the suggestion he is getting jobs for his race rather than his punditry ability is a sad indication of how far is needed to go in the fight against racism.
He said: "If a black person, a black or ethnic minority wants a chance they've got to put themselves forward. I'm here working for Sky Sports, one of the biggest networks, corporations in the world. I'm here because I believed in myself.
"I love working with Jamie Carragher, I love working with David Jones and I'm in a privileged position. I did this through hard work. The hard work is not going to be tarnished.
"I've got people on Twitter, I've got people on Instagram: 'Oh. Micah Richards is only on air because of this whole Black Lives Matter movement.'
"But I've had conversations with corporations that I work for way before this and now I'm getting tarnished with the same brush 'oh he's only on TV because of Black Lives Matter'.
"Which is disheartening for me because I put in the work, I work every single day at my craft. I've been a professional footballer, I've won a Premier League. I've played at the highest level and I'm still getting stones thrown at me.
"If I have to fly the flag, if people want to throw stones at me, I'll happily take it because I know I put in the work"
