Dave Whelan Accused of Racism

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan in a bit of a mess

We all thought that the problem was Wigan football club's chairman Dave Whelan hiring Malky Mackay as the new manager. Mackay is under investigation by the Football Association for allegedly making racist and antisemitic remarks in texts and e-mails with his assistant when manager of Cardiff City. In today's Guardian, however, David Conn reports that Whelan's explanation for the appointment included some questionable remarks of his own:

One of Mackay's texts commented on a Jewish football agent, Phil Smith, saying:  "Nothing like a Jew that sees money slipping through his fingers." The Guardian article continues:

"Whelan said he does not believe the reference to Smith is offensive, first explaining he believed Mackay was only reflecting that Jewish people 'love money' like everybody does. 'The Jews don't like losing money. Nobody likes losing money,' Whelan told the Guardian.

Asked whether he did not think what Mackay said was offensive, because the claim that Jews 'love money' has been used as a negative stereotype, Whelan said: 'Do you think Jewish people chase money a little bit more than we do? I think they are very shrewd people.' Asked if he himself believed that, Whelan, the multimillionaire former owner of JJB Sports, said:  'I think Jewish people do chase money more than everybody else. I don't think that's offensive at all.'"

The whole of Conn's piece is here.

BBC Sports editor Dan Roan writes:

"For many, Wigan owner Dave Whelan's appointment of Malky Mackay - and now his controversial comments in defence of that decision - will provide further evidence that professional football exists in a moral bubble of its own, which all too often appears to be out of touch with modern values."

Roan also notes that in the USA, the National Basketball Association banned an owner - Donald Sterling - for life for his racist comments.

BBC report is here.

The Jewish News currently has this brief report online, and when I typed "Wigan" into the Jewish Chronicle online search (having found nothing via "Whelan"), I got this lovely report on Yossi Benayoun's blues at seeing red when QPR played Wigan last season!

Are Whelan's comments another example of the general sense that has developed since last summer that it is somehow ok now to make such statements openly and publicly? I have no doubt, and quite a lot of experience, that such thoughts are common and timeless. But when did it become permissible to say them out loud?

UPDATE
The Board of Deputies rejects Whelan's 'apology' here.
The statement by the BoD here.
"World's worst apology" as per Huffington Post UK here.
The Daily Mail has a vid of his 'apology' here.

Meanwhile, each time this idiot refers to 'Jewish' people 'AND' 'English' people I go nuts. Does he actually believe that if you are a Jew you cannot be a Brit? Ouch.