Once again the use of a racial slur has had had an unsettling impact on sport !
Timana Tahu has withdrawn from the Blues State of Origin side, assistant coach Andrew Johns has stood down from his position - and has been stood down from a lucrative media job in the television industry.
There are no winners - only losers - but it also seems that there has been a loss of perspective.
This remark was made at a bonding session in a pub. Once again, the curse of all codes of football - alcohol - was being consumed.
The demon grog has an unhappy history of loosening tongues and shedding inhibitions. Expletives and racial descriptions slip into conversations without the balance that would usually apply if the person was completely sober.
There is no question that this remark was offensive. Timana Tahu had every right to react with indignation - but whether the insult was intentional or just adding colour to a less than sober moment is open to conjecture.
Unfortunately we seem destined to never completely eliminate the racial slur. Sometimes it simply explodes in anger on the field of play, and sometimes it emerges on the social scene - where alcohol is playing a part.
Apologies have been given. Time to lay the matter to rest - until the next time !
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