Sponsors who have ditched West Ham and Kurt Zouma have been accused of double standards.
Experience Kissimmee announced this week that it has ended its sponsorship of West Ham United.
The Tourism Authority in Florida activity promotes and advertises Sea World which has been accused of ongoing cruelty to whales and dolphins.
Its move to disassociate itself from the Hammers has been described as disingenuous and a publicity stunt to play well to animal lovers.
Adidas – the sporting apparel company that’s no stranger to animal rights protesters -has also suspended its sponsorship of Kurt Zouma,
Its use of millions of Kangaroo hides and its use of K-Leather has long been criticised whilst only permanently banning the use of fur last year.
At the turn of the century, the European Parliament were told that clothes for Adidas were made in two factories using child labour, forced overtime and sexual harassment in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
It is not just companies that have been accused of double standards. Reacting to the decision to play Zouma, Radio talkSPORT host Jamie O’Hara said on the Sports Bar: “I’m ashamed of David Moyes.”
This comes from a man whose former wife Danielle Lloyd accused O’Hara of beating her with a shoe and trying to strangle her on a horror holiday. In a 2017 newspaper article, she claimed she took out injunctions to stop him from getting near her and the kids.
In the same year, the ex-Premier League player is alleged to have assaulted a 16-year-old boy following an angry clash with rival fans according to the Sun.
During a non-league football match, O’Hara earlier leapt onto a fence when a Leatherhead fan refused to give the ball back after it went out of play.
He was later fined two weeks wages by the club following the incident which was published on social media.
As the old saying goes those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!
West Ham fans can cancel their experience Kissimmee holidays and stop wearing Adidas but nothing at all we can do about Jamie O Hara. It seems like the bloke is on Talk Sport talking rubbish every time I turn the radio on.
Think the sponsors have seen an opportunity to exit their deal with the club early.
The double standards shown by the media is shocking but not surprising. Jim White on talksport yesterday before playing his recorded interview with Boxer Billy Joe Saunders said “I love this guy”. The same BJS who posted a video online teaching men on how to punch their girlfriends during lockdown. The same BJS videoed taunting a drug addict with money. Jim White of Sky, who’s co-worker Jamie Carragher spat in the face of a child while she was sat in a car with her father, yet he still cosies up with Jamie. Ali McCoist also of talk sport who’s forever talking about the national treasure “Gazza”. Who spent two years knocking his wife about.
Newcastle United are owned by a State where stoning people to death is still commonplace, where they hack journalists to death for daring to speak out against the regime. Yet Sky, BBC talksport etc seem to ignore all that.
Mendy and Greenwood haven’t received this kind of outrage.
Personally I think WHU and Moyes dealt with it in the best way possible considering the circumstances, the cats were removed from the intellectually challenged Zouma and he’s been fined £250k within 36hrs of the news breaking.
Thanks for putting some perspective on this issue, Sean Whetstone. Finally a bit of sense prevails. As you would expect, every rival fan is demanding Zouma be sacked or worse. The only player who is probably thankful to Zouma right now is Mason Greenwood of Man U. The spotlight is certainly off him at the moment!