I like to think that I am not in any way a racist individual, however it is the case that I saw nothing wrong with the recent ‘Black dives matter’ remark made by the former CEO of Basketball Ireland, Bernard O’Byrne, which referred to the highly dubious penalty won by Raheem Sterling for England in their Euros semifinal win over Denmark. Given that I had no problem with the comment in question, and actually saw it as a clever and accurate play on words, then maybe I am a racist after all. I really don’t know any more.

Raheem Sterling is a great footballer and someone who has had to endure a lot of racist abuse in his life. He has been a strong voice in the Black Lives Matter movement. However he did appear to ‘dive’ in order to win a crucial penalty for his team in the game against Denmark and so the words used by O’Byrne, to my mind, simply reflected the opinion of many a football fan. However it would appear that the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement is not open to criticism of any kind, which leads me to believe that it is doomed to failure. When things happen that go against logic and common sense then there is usually only one result.

If it is to survive and thrive then ‘Black Lives Matter’ needs leadership. Strong leadership.