- Craig Foster apologized to Sam Kerr for his comments last week
- Foster said he was wrong in his initial reaction.
- He says that racism cannot be committed against a white person
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Craig Foster has apologized to Matildas superstar Sam Kerr for his comments regarding his alleged remark to a UK police officer who accused her of racial harassment.
Australians were stunned last week when the Daily Mail exclusively revealed that Kerr had been accused of racially harassing a London police officer.
The words Kerr used are controversial and it has been variously reported that she called the officer a ‘stupid white bitch’, ‘stupid white PC’ or ‘stupid white cop’.
Her legal team is now reportedly prepared to argue that she used the words “stupid white cop.”
The charge arises from an alleged dispute over a taxi fare in January last year, when Kerr is accused of having used insulting and threatening abusive words which caused alarm or distress.
Craig Foster has issued a lengthy apology to Sam Kerr following his alleged racism saga
Kerr is accused of racially aggravated harassment of a police officer and will face trial in the matter in 2025.
Kerr has spoken only to plead not guilty and confirm her identity in court, facing a four-day trial that could lead to her being deported or even imprisoned.
Foster said on Thursday that Football Australia should consider stripping Kerr of the captaincy if he is proven guilty of the charge, but has since changed his mind on the matter.
‘Like many, I mistakenly thought that comments that referenced any color and were discriminatory, degrading or hostile were a form of racism. I apologize to Sam for that mistake,” Foster wrote in a lengthy statement posted on X.
Foster went on to say that white people cannot experience racism as they are not part of a marginalized group, citing the Australian Diversity Council’s definition of racism.
“Does that amount to a double standard when the same terms or phrases are used against marginalized groups?” Foster wrote.
‘The answer is no. Because the power differential and therefore the impact are vastly and fundamentally different.
‘Those of us who do not belong to a minority cannot know what it feels like to be told that we don’t belong, that we don’t speak the language, that we don’t look good, that we ‘go back to where we came from.’ or having faced intergenerational racism.’
The former Socceroo said the definitions of racism were “not designed to protect me as a white, Anglo, Australian man or as a white police officer who has even greater legal and racial power.”
Foster said the whole saga has exposed a misconception about racism in Australia.
Foster said he is committed to ensuring no other Australian faces personal, institutional or systemic racism.
“That’s because I can’t experience racism in Australia,” Foster said.
“My right to speak is not questioned, I belong to the cultural, racial and linguistic majority, I am not attacked because of my name, color, headdress or religion as is the case with many, and I am made to feel that I have the right to speak.” “I belong and that is why, like many of you, I am deeply committed to ensuring that no other Australian faces personal, institutional or systemic racism.”
Foster said the power of sport is that it makes us confront “difficult, controversial and challenging questions.”
He ended by writing that the journey towards a better future is not easy and that mistakes along the way will be inevitable.