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On Monday, Ian Wright tweeted some extremely disturbing screenshots from what appears to be a teenager sending Wright messages on Instagram. The messages are filled with hate, death threats, racial slurs, and are generally appalling.
According to Irish Central, a news website, an “adult male teenager” voluntarily went to the police in Ireland and gave an interview. He claims his account was hacked.
As Wright points out, it’s a child sending him this garbage. From the description “adult male teenager,” he’s probably 18 or 19 years old — an adult in the eyes of the law but still very much a child.
I can barely put together coherent thoughts to discuss this. It just sucks. Everything about it sucks. Wright tweeted:
...I am focused on the right things. My energy is positive but I couldn’t turn the other cheek. You do this in public and he’d be sat in jail!!!
We tired...(emphasis added)
I can’t begin to fathom how tired Ian Wright and the black community must be. It’s draining for me to witness stuff like this. At this point, I usually talk about how we need stiff punishment and that it’s on all of us to call out and shout down racism when we see it (it still is, by the way), but come on, man. We’ve reached the point where I recognize what I “usually” write in response to racism in and around football. I’m at a loss. I’m sitting at my computer shaking my head.
We’ve got to do better. This has to end.
Wright, somehow still the positive person he seems to always be, signed off the thread on an upbeat note. He’s really quite the impressive guy.
Thanks everyone for your kind and supportive messages. I'm normally better at ignoring it, but that one got to me. There has be consequences. Each one teach one!! Peace and love ✌ ♥️
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) May 11, 2020