Micah Richards expertly ended any claims that he's only been given the job as a television pundit on Sky Sports because of the Black Lives Matter campaign.
The former Manchester City defender is high on a lot of people's lists of favourite pundits, with his infectious personality really coming through on Sky.
However some have claimed that Richards is their for tokenism and has only been put on television because of the BLM campaign.
On Monday Night Football, after covering his former team beat Wolves, Richards brilliantly rubbished those claims. "I'm in a privileged position and I did this through hard work. And the hard work that I've put in is not going to be tarnished," the former England international said.
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"I've got people on Twitter, people on Instagram, 'Oh, Micah Richards is only on because of this whole Black Lives Matter movement'.
"But I've had conversations with corporations that I've worked for way before this.
"And now I'm getting tarnished with the same brush, 'He's only on TV because of Black Lives Matter' - which is disheartening for me.
"Because I put in the work, I work every single day at my craft. I've been a professional footballer, I've won a Premier League, I've played at the highest level... and I'm still getting stones thrown at me.
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"So if I've got to fly the flag, people want to thrown stones at me - I'll happily take it. Because I know, I put in the work."
Internet trolls attacked Richards, and fellow pundit Alex Scott, after it was revealed that Charlie Nicholas, Phil Thompson and Matt Le Tissier were leaving Soccer Saturday, even though they weren't anything to do with the decision and weren't the trios replacements.
Richards defended Scott, who has been linked with the Question of Sport presenter role, adding, "Alex Scott is incredible. She's one of the best I've ever worked with and it's even worse for her because she's a woman, and she's seen as black as well.
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"It's double jeopardy. She's in a worse position. She is honestly one of the best pundits I have ever worked with and all you see on social media is: 'Why is a woman working in men's football? She doesn't know.'
"She's played however many times for England, she knows football inside out and more than most people, and to see the abuse that she gets just because someone's left their job or not had their contracts renewed, it's disheartening to see.
"But, at the same time, it just shows we've still got a problem and it's that awkward conversation we all don't want to have but we've got to have the conversation."
BLM and the decision of players to take the knee was in discussion again after QPR director of football Les Ferdinand put out a statement explaining why the team didn't take the knee at the weekend.
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Richards was again excellent in discussing the issue and you can see the whole discussion in this video.
After listening to him speak on Monday, it would be impossible to think Richards is in his position for any other reason than he's very good at his job.
Featured Image Credit: Sky SportsTopics:聽Manchester City, Black Lives Matter, Football News, Racism, Micah Richards, Alex Scott, blm, Monday Night Football, Sky Sports, Wolves
