Raheem Sterling’s comments about racism in football are very welcome, together with those of the many other BAME footballers who have suffered racism in the past (Sport, 11 December). The response from the Society of Editors that no journalists or editors write or cause to be written offensive and racist comments is laughable in its ignorance. The only surprising aspect of this debate is that some people appear to be surprised by it. Football fans are not particularly unrepresentative of the population at large and, as the Guardian’s recent series on bias and racism, and the huge volume of credible research over the past years has shown, racism remains a prominent feature of every aspect of daily life for BAME people whether they are of the Windrush generation, are born here, try to get jobs here, encounter the police or go to school here.
Gary Craig
Visiting professor, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
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