Thread by @TheRisingPoint1

#Pogba , Lampard, and the limitations of the white gaze: A ⚽️thread for those who like to think critically in these challenging times.

First, let's state the obvious. In many positive ways and numerous bad, sport has the ability to both mirror and highlight social values. 1/16

https://twitter.com/touchlinefracas/status/1402274482467782659

There are 4 major moments from this video that, in my opinion, exemplify a conversation that is not had nearly enough when it comes to global football. Watching this makes one reflect about how some coaches work with kids and about how we normalize (white) armchair analysis. 2/16

Frank says, "I don't know what Paul Pogba is..."

🤔I find it fascinating there is a need to define him as anything other than a supremely talented footballer. Do we have to pinpoint whether Paul is a #8 or #10? Does the game function that way really? Why not ask PP himself? 3/16

This reminds me of conversations that are often had with coaches at grassroots level talking about kids who haven't even grown into their bodies yet. "I'm not sure what so and so is..." They are 11 and they love to play football. Teach them to scan and disguise their passes! 4/16

When talking about Jose's coaching, Frank says, "He tried to shock him and embarrass him out of it...And I'm not sure Pogba got the point. That's my worry, I'm not sure he got the point."

Why is the emphasis for modifying behavior put solely on Pogba and not on Mourinho? 5/16

Also, to the point about Jose trying to 'shock and embarrass' Paul into performing, how often does that work with desk jobs let alone with footballers (of any age)? If you think that because it might work with some so then it should work with all then you're really lost. 6/16

Frank goes on to say, "All that kind of flick and roll with the studs looks great but I'm not a big advocate for that...I don't like it."

This part is exactly what many white commentators, ex pros, and fans say (in all sports) when seeing someone who just moves differently. 7/16

You know another Frenchman who was prone to flicks and rolls with his studs? A guy who moved differently on the field irrespective of whether he played behind 2 strikers or out on the left wing? Sure, the skin tone is a distraction for some, but I see tons of Zizou in Pogba. 8/16

Finally, Frank rounds everything off with, "We've built up this real magical thing, (that) Pogba was amazing at Juventus...I don't know how many of us watch Italian football and if we're honest, not that much of it."

🤔So you didn't watch but he couldn't have been amazing? 9/16

And here we have the real crux of the issue and how it pertains to racism: Frank Lampard can sit in front of journalists and say things that have tons of holes in their logic and not only can he be taken seriously but he can also be appointed head coach of a global brand. 10/16

He then has the power, either as a manager or front office executive, to make decisions on player and staff personnel based on the paradigm with which he views the game (flicks + rolls = bad) as well as how he views leadership (shock and embarrass = player must change). 11/16

And if that power to drive a narrative and get a top job with limited experience wasn't enough, he can also get away with the absurdity of admitting that he didn't watch much of a certain league but felt confident that a player wasn't as prolific there as others have said. 12/16

Meanwhile, where is the pipeline of black ex pros in England, continental Europe, and the U.S. who can get a top job not too long after playing? Or perhaps even be apprenticed into top roles because they have a deep understanding of people and can communicate effectively? 13/16

Far beyond representation in pro sports, the conversation we must have more (and that black Americans often lead) is how we wrestle with all the nuanced ways that whiteness manifests in our world to prop some people up as sages while branding others as enigmatic misfits. 14/16

I haven't said that Paul Pogba is faultless as a person or footballer because I know that isn't true. But I also know that we aren't able to truly appreciate (and appropriately critique) those who the dominant group believe to be unworthy of grace, complexity, or dynamism. 15/16

This is the reality facing our world, and until we can tackle the roots of it all, namely the belief that what some (white) people say and do should be taken as gospel, then we will not do much to dismantle the systems that oppress the 'enigmatic' people all around the globe. END