Jim Rosenthal's 'spear-chucker' gaffe forces ITV apology to 'good friend' Tessa Sanderson
An ITV spokesman has been forced to issue an apology on behalf of Jim Rosenthal after the presenter referred to black athlete Tessa Sanderson as a "spear chucker" live on air. Rosenthal, 60, was hosting Danny Williams' boxing match on Friday night when he used the term after a link from a short film about charity work by 1984 Olympic gold medallist Sanderson, 52, to help troubled inner city youths. When the camera returned to Rosenthal, he said: “Tessa Sanderson there, she was a great spear chucker.” Rosenthal's comment prompted a flurry of complaints from ITV viewers, one of whom wrote: “The term is highly racist to black people. The only more offensive thing he could have said was what we shall leave as ‘the N word’.” A spokesman for ITV4 said: “Jim was referring to Tessa’s achievements as a javelin thrower and there was absolutely no intention to offend on his part. “However, in hindsight, Jim accepts that it was a poor choice of phrase and will be apologising to Tessa, who is a good friend of his.” The controversy is not without precedent in this country. Maori New Zealander John Witanga won £11,000 in a race discrimination case in 2003 after being called a spear chucker by boss Colin Lusted in his first week at catering firm Rail Gourmet, of Edinburgh.
High&Low wrote: » It may be construed as derogatory, but its not common. If you type "spear chucker" into google you'll only return about 15,000 results. The javelin is often referred to as a "spear" in athletics circles...
m@cc@ wrote: » It's funny you should mention Golliwogs. Here in the Netherlands, they celebrate the arrival of 'Sinterklass'. He also has helpers called 'Zwarte Pieten' which basicially involves 'blackening up' to represent the African slave imported by Saint Nicolas (these days they try to say it's due to being down the chimneys). Can you imagine how far this would get in the UK and Ireland?!
TerrorFirmer wrote: » Spear chucker is a well known racist term
TerrorFirmer wrote: » Are you lads serious, Spear chucker is a well known racist term - I think the PC nonsense does go way to far but calling a black athlete a 'spear chucker' on live TV is pretty unacceptable - but don't equate this to me being a member of said brigade or in fact even giving two craps about it, in fact I had quite a hearty laugh when I read it - but it is outrageously racist,
m@cc@ wrote: » I remember Prince Philip getting in trouble for asking some aboriginals if they still used spears.
TerrorFirmer wrote: »
TerrorFirmer wrote: » Are you lads serious, Spear chucker is a well known racist term
robinph wrote: » Not that well known, I've never heard of it before.
Fratton Fred wrote: » In Jim Rosenthal's and Tessa Sanderson's generation, it would be a well known racist term for a Black person. I consider it to be very racist, but I don't think for a minute that is what JR meant to say, it was probably an unfortunate slip.
The Times wrote: But they were the only words of support that Backley heard. “I thought they might appreciate that I was out of my comfort zone there,” the legendary spear-chucker said with a sigh.
WalesOnline wrote: The issue that has me flabbergasted is how serial under-achievers like spear-chucker Steve Backley can scream from the moral rooftops about how right it is that Chambers has been banned, while all the time ignoring the fact that the BOA is willingly taking part in a country where people’s houses are being knocked down so flower beds can be planted to make Beijing look pretty.
The Indepandant wrote: A married man since October and now a father-to-be, Backley intends to hang up his spears after a final fling in the Greek capital next summer.
flyton5 wrote: » ridiculious....i had to order an african-american coffee the other day.....pc madness!!
Addyson Large Nursery wrote: » Did it have a cocktail stick in it?
flyton5 wrote: » no...they said something about it appearing racist to a minority of people with too much time on their hands...
Addyson Large Nursery wrote: » Killjoys...
flyton5 wrote: » better make sure "joys" isn't a racist term.....otherwise u'll be convicted under the incitement of hatred act....and u dont want that!! the walls have ears.....
shenanigans1982 wrote: » Its a derogatory term for those locked up in Mountjoy...tomorrow one of them will be on to Joe Duffy complaining about Frada.
Indie18 wrote: » yeah but they are not allowed to be called golliwogs anymore i forget what they are called now.
Better red than dead: Bill Oddie's quip over electrocuted squirrel angers BBC viewers The BBC has received complaints after a family show featured close-up shots of an electrocuted squirrel. Viewers of Autumnwatch, the popular wildlife series, claimed that there was no need to include the footage, which they said had upset their children.
Zaph wrote: » Spearchucker Jones is a black character in M*A*S*H. He was in the book, the film and some of the early tv episodes. I assume he'd be called something else if they were being prodeuced today.
