THE killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer (since charged with murder) has led to mass protests throughout the USA and sparked a global anti-racism outcry.
Events in Minneapolis may seem a long way away but racist attitudes exist everywhere including in the GAA, according to Armagh forward Jemar Hall.
The Forkhill clubman stands out for his fitness, pace, bravery and skill but some blinkered and ignorant individuals continue to focus on the colour of his skin and the racist comments he first heard in underage GAA and soccer matches have continued at senior level in both codes.
“I’ve experienced racism throughout my whole life in Gaelic and soccer,” recalls the half-forward, whose father Sherman swapped the USA for south Armagh in the late 1980s after marrying Forkhill native Denise Cunningham.
“Early on it happened a good few times and when I was young I got really emotional about it.”
Jemar turned the tears he cried as a little boy into a thick skin, a protective shield, as he grew older but his anger boiled over when he was subjected to foul-mouthed racist abuse during a match for Forkhill two years ago.
“It was a heated game,” he recalls.
“It was the last 10 minutes and there was a couple of points in it. I had the ball, I was soloing and I lost control of it. I made a tackle, a high tackle, and I caught the boy around the neck.
“Someone from the opposition dugout shouted out: “You black bastard.” My mate was standing outside their dugout and he heard it too, the whole place just went silent.
“I was that frustrated, because that sort of thing had happened to me before; that I went over and I decked the boy who said it. I got a straight red card.”
After the game the incident was reported to the match referee and a protest was lodged with the Armagh County Board. Racism is a Category 4 infraction in the GAA but the investigative process turned out to be a very frustrating experience for Jemar. Without video evidence the case, he says, boiled down to “my word against his” and with no support from the opposition team the alleged perpetrator got off with a two-game ban for disruptive behaviour.
“A load of people heard what was said but they (his club) denied it,” Jemar explains.
“It was very frustrating and after it I felt that if it happened again there would be no point in even saying anything because unless enough people hear it (and are willing to say they heard it) it just comes down to my word against whoever says it.
“Obviously the opposing team didn’t want to say anything and get their team-mate banned or blacken the name of their club and the county board were questioning whether it happened at all.
“I wouldn’t have gone through the whole bother of fighting the guy if I didn’t hear it and I wouldn’t have bothered going to all the meetings if it hadn’t happened.
“Club members went to the meetings with me and said exactly what happened but it wasn’t dealt with the proper way. I felt they (the county board) thought I’d made it all up and that really frustrated me because I wouldn’t have gone through that whole thing if it didn’t happen.”
Players and officials from his club and the Armagh squad (he has never experienced racism at county level) stood with him throughout the process and his spirits were lifted by a show of solidarity from other clubs after the incident.
“After that match we played a team and boys were coming up and shaking my hand and saying: ‘I’m so sorry to hear about that, we’re not like that’,” he explains.
“They were basically apologising for it even though they had nothing to do with it. It was nice to have that support.”
