Last night on a stream I made an absolutely ridiculous comment, suggesting that Kieran Tripper was racist after an altercation with Myles Lewis-Skelly. A comment which I sincerely regret. There are no excuses or justifications here. I wholeheartedly apologise to Kieran and to Newcastle United, it’s a legitimately defamatory comment. Throwing the term around so loosely and irresponsibly is an incredibly foolish thing to do, particularly given the current climate surrounding racism within football. It diminishes the impact of the word, and takes away from real conversations which need to be had. I’ve been critical in the past of people throwing the word around, and so last night was a moment of rank hypocrisy. As many have pointed out, the comment is made even more nonsensical by the fact that Kieran’s father is black. However, were Kieran’s parents both White, the comment would have been just as ludicrous, as there was absolutely zero basis or logic behind it. I will learn from it, respect everyone for calling it out, and again offer a complete apology to Kieran.

Cheick Tiote's son, Rafael is one of @NUFC's mascots for their EFL Cup semi-final tie at St James' Park 🥹

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