Is This A Racist Comment From Nasty?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/39700229

[jim360]

Well, let's see: does it refer to the race of the unborn child, and of her mother/parents, in a way that is evidently dismissive and derogatory?

If so, then... well, I suppose... yes?

[maggiebee]

Used to love watching Nastase play but these remarks are beyond the pale. His remarks are racist and sadly he has gone down in my estimation.

[jno]

yes it is.

[Old_Geezer]

Is it the reference to milk, or coffee that is racist ?
I better not say what I've just drunk then.

Nastase was always the bad boy of Tennis (or one of them) but sometimes folk play a race card when it isn't possible to find anything of the sort. I think they just like the attention of making a fuss. The comment was ill advised, but hardly noteworthy.

[piggynose]

why did he feel the need to say what he did?

[ToraToraTora]

not sure of the context really but it sounds like an analogy of the facts to me.

[douglas9401]

It's not well known but 'Ilie' means 'the end of the bell' in Romanian.

[Khandro]

He said her baby, [being the child of a black mother and a white father] would probably be the colour of milk chocolate. I don't know why he wants to comment on such a thing, but it seems to be a statement of fact, so I can't see how that is 'racist'.
If I said a white woman who was pregnant from a white man was odds on favourite to have a white baby, would that be racist?

[steg]

//It's not well known but 'Ilie' means 'the end of the bell' in Romanian//

And "boaby heid" in Scots

[anotheoldgit]

During WW2 they were proud to be called "Chocolate soldiers from the USA"

[jno]

it seems to be a statement of fact

really? Knowing the colour of an unborn baby is a "fact"? Can you not spot the difference between "fact" and "guess"?

[anneasquith]

Yes.

[anotheoldgit]

jno

Not a guess atall, if the child was of black parents, then it would be black, if the child was of white parents the child would be white, and if the child was of one white parent and one black parent then that child would be a lighter shade of black.

[jno]

sorry, aog, genetics is far more complicated than that.

Even the Mail knows that...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1387468/Black-couple-Francis-Arlette-Tshibangu-white-baby-blond-hair.html

[EcclesCake]

You are misinformed AOG.

[steg]

///and if the child was of one white parent and one black parent then that child would be a lighter shade of black.///

Grey?

[mikey4444]

Yes, of course it is, and even if it isn't, its a remarkably nasty thing for Mr Nasty to say. He should be kicked out of tennis, in all its various forms.

[JJ109]

Was it said with malice ? - no
Was it said in a jokey way? - yes
Is it true that the PROBABILITY of it being factually correct is true? - YES, although not the only outcome, it is the most likely to occur.

Therefore, it is not rascist. It was ill-advised and stupid to make such a comment but it was NOT rascist.

The people that think it is rascist are rascists themselves as they BELIEVE that the comment of that likely fact is derogatory. It is not derogatory but a fact that will likely occur.

[Baldric]

///Yes, of course it is, and even if it isn't///

Blimey, talk about hedging your bet ;o)

[mikey4444]

What possible business can it be of Nasty what ever colour the baby turns out to be ?

He shouldn't have made any comment whatsoever, but he did, and for obvious reasons.