Wexford hurler Lee Chin has said that he still deals with racism on a daily basis.
Chin is enjoying a strong season with Wexford this year as he continues to reinforce himself as a pivotal figure within Davy Fitzgerald’s side.
The 25-year-old is now in his eighth season with the Wexford panel and he has become a key figure for mixed race children in Ireland since breaking into intercounty setup.
Chin said in an interview with The Sports Chronicle that a Late Late Show appearance with former Dublin footballer Jason Sherlock in 2012 was a pivotal moment for him and that he deals with racial abuse better now than he did back then.
“My appearance on The Late Late Show happened in 2012. It’s hard to know for certain if there was any long term impact,” wrote Chin.
“I’d like to think so. At the time going on the Late Late alongside Jason Sherlock wasn’t something I fully appreciated. I was only 20 and just thought if it made a big sound that was the purpose of being there.
“It felt like the right thing to do but I know now without a doubt, as a man, that it mattered. The support I received from my family (always) and community but also from strangers told me it really mattered.
“I still have small experiences of everyday racism. The difference is I am a little older now, so I’ve more control over how I let it affect me.
“When I was younger my mother’s reassurances helped me enormously, but now I can deal with it in my own way. Sometimes it’s very frustrating, just that feeling of disrespect, it’s subtle but stuff still happens.”
Sherlock claimed after the Late Late Show that the abuse aimed at players stemmed from ignorance more so than it did racism.
“I would have suffered a fair bit – we didn’t have multicultural society as we do now. My sympathy would be with Lee, as it is a humiliating experience. It’s not necessarily that they’re racist, it’s just a lack of knowledge and ignorance.
“It’s like if someone was overweight, they might get abuse.”
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