You seem to be taking this quite strongly, but the reaction there has been kinda highlights that it's not "complete bs" for a lot of people.
Jordan Henderson | New Athletic Interview: I strongly believe that me playing in Saudi Arabia is a positive thing
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Agree to disagree then. That's a bs opinion for me. It's completely disconnected. He has his stances, going to Saudi to play football has literally nothing to do with his personal stance on LGBTQ. It's just retiring from competitive football and getting a big pay day to play at a casual level in front of people who happen to be football mad but don't get to see top players too often. They aren't all of a sudden anti LGBTQ people.
I am guessing you are his dad.
Just strongly disagree with people trying to force someone else into actively protesting their own causes. They can support it, doesn't mean they have to actively protest it constantly. If the guy wants to retire and get paid to go to Saudi, it means absolutely nothing for his support of lgbtq. It might disappoint people who thought he would actively fight against it his whole life rather than just have an opinion and leave it at that, but that's on them for trying to find a social leader out of an athlete. Saying "his statements were all bullshit PR" is also just not true. He said his support, he can give the same support from there. Not like he's ever tried to implement changes politically (obviously, as hes a footballer and not a political figure).
He's got a point, I didn't see anyone saying that Messi was pro-guns or woke when he moved to America. There's this weird need to tarnish people who are trying to secure they're kids futures when any of us would probably take that money and play football for 6 months a year over there.
Man, forgot they signed those two. Surely they'll be a downgrade though, will take them some time to settle.
He actually really annoys me as a player. I just don't like this black or white, "if you aren't with me (or I should say, actively protesting and impacting your life every single day), you are against me" mentality. Guy can have the same opinion wherever he lives, just because he supports the cause and put out a few statements doesn't mean he has to commit his life to fighting for the cause.
Nah you don’t get it. If he really had “the stance” on LGTBQI+ which he has been proclaiming no money in the world would tempt him to go there. His move and thus proactive choice to go work in a country who goes against all he has been saying before on the subject is hypocrite as feck.
The thing that annoys me the most about extreme social activists is trying to force everyone into fighting the injustice alongside them rather than just letting people have their opinions and living their life as normal if they don't want to "actively fight for the cause" to be honest. Him not wanting to fight the cause actively every day of his life doesn't mean he disagrees with the cause. It just means he has his opinion and is living his life like normal.
Yes, it sucks for the oppressed folk in question as it always sucks for any group that is ever oppressed. You always want to have as many people as possible actively support you. But that's not reality and you can't hate on somebody just for not wanting to actively fight it.
I think that’s the biggest challenge for them. Losing the leadership or both Henderson & Milner in one window, especially if Fabinho and/or Thiago leave too… Could take a while before it starts working.
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The difference being that Messi has not gone out there as an activist and essentially used a minority group as a way to enhance his image and reputation only to then turn around and get into bed with those that are persecuting them the most. Following on from his posturing and statements at the World Cup it is is impossible to deny that Henderson is a massive hypocrite for taking this move. To clarify, I was only responding initially to the question of why are Liverpool fans disgusted with him. Personally I have been disgusted with him ever since he moved to Anfield, this does not move the needle at all.
Such an average midfielder.
Did he say this? Or is this one of those things where he said a few nice and reasonable things where he of course thinks everyone should have equal rights, and then people took it off from there and made him out to be some superman?
I could be wrong about Henderson in particular tbh. I saw what Damien posted a couple pages back and that to me is nothing more than a normal statement where yeah of course he supports all equality which is what should be the norm. But I don't see anything past that?
I remember when he moved there and Fergie said that we looked at him but his posture meant he would get back issues as he got older.On the hypocrite thing, doesn't it make the Saudi's hypocrites? I mean, they apparently hate the LGBQT+ community but they're hiring an open supporter of that certain minority because they need good players with big profiles? Are they the one's selling out? Are both selling out? Or is a guy just going to play some football and get paid?
Then you should stop holding sports personalities to a higher standard. I'd like to think that I don't hold any prejudicial views, but if I got an offer to go and do the same job that I'm doing now, in Saudi Arabia for 5x the salary, I would definitely do it. I would also still hold the same views whilst working out there and call out any instances of prejudice that I witnessed....same as I would over here.
Henderson is one of the good guys, to be honest. He's just doing what most decent people would do in the same situation.
A scouser and a Geordie at the same club. That is communication annihilation at its finest
Why must it be that Henderson engages in causes as a way to enhance his image/reputation? What if he just feels it is a cause worth supporting? Would it have been better if he donated in the shadows?
If Henderson did a 180 and started supporting LGBT discrimination you'd have a point.
Well probably not for that given they execute people....
It's nothing about good guy or not though. They're just footballers going to get paid. People need to stop idolizing them or looking at them for any social movement. They can have their own opinions, playing somewhere else doesn't really change those opinions IMO. Fair enough for those players who actively will reject offers like that on the basis of the cause, but I'd bet that you're looking at less than 0.1% of footballers and any rejections like Modrić is purely footballing related.
We'll agree to disagree, but it's really not bs. There's no need to be flippant about this because you disagree with how many people think.
Oh please. This argument is always the most disingenuous crap that pops up in these threads. He's been playing for Liverpool in the Premier League since 2011. Let's say he's been earning 100k a week, on average, during that time.
That's £62 million in earnings, not counting bonuses, sponsorship income, investments, anything. Unless he has 20+ kids, their future should be pretty fecking secure at this point.
Just be honest and say greed is good. No need to dress it up.
He isn't doing anything immoral. Chasing a bigger cheque is not immoral and shouldn't be labeled as greed. It's what almost everyone on earth does on a daily basis.
It's called capitalism, hate the system, not the player.
It absolutely isn't BS. He's proved that he's full of shite.
It's not necessarily immoral but "trying to secure his kids future" is every bit as emotive and moralising language as saying he "sacrifices his principles because of greed", just from the other direction. It's nonsense. Just say he's entitled to accept any job he wants and leave it at that.
Also, plenty of people turn down bigger salaries all the time. I wouldn't move to Saudi if they offered to quadruple my salary right now.
Nonsense
It's called "prioritising a bigger salary over other considerations". It's fine and not immoral but not mandatory either and in his case, certainly not necessary to secure his kids future. Let's not paint him and his ilk as struggling dads trying to make a better life for their children.
Honestly you are asking the wrong person. I am a straight white guy and so his moving there does not upset me personally. I would instead ask the LGBTQ+ groups that he has claimed to Ally with for the last few years. Judging by their comments today, plenty of which can be found without much effort with a quick twitter search, they see this as a massive betrayal and think he is an enormous thundercnut for stabbing them in the back in the name of greed.
As previously established, I think he is an enormous thundercnut without the need for qualification and always have, I still feel all warm and tingly recalling Hannibal levelling the fecker during the dark days of RR.
What is? Are you trying to say every single person who lives or visits or moves to Saudi is anti LGBTQ? Now who is generalizing ...
He's a footballer. He's not a social justice leader. He's going there to get paid a lot of money. It doesn't change his opinions on the matter. What I will concede is that it just means he doesn't care enough about the topic for it to actively impact his life decisions (probably as he's not personally affected by it). But it's really not a "you're either with us or against us" scenario.
What other considerations? He will be able to retire at the age of 40 and never work again. No puditary, no coaching, no commentary, no selling his medals if he gets into financial trouble. You made the effort to list his previous earnings but do you know what his yearly outgoings are? There's been a bunch of recently retired footballers fall into bankruptcy recently, it can happen to anyone.
He's entitled to move for the money if he wants, especially if that helps him and his family continue to live the lifestyle they've become accustomed to living during his playing days.
It's always hard as an unrealistic hypothetical but if they offered me multiple millions to do my job over there for a year after which I'd go home, yeah I wouldn't think too long about it.
Like you say though, let's not paint it as securing his families future, that should be fine regardless. It's absolutely just going for a big pay day at what is essentially his retirement. Which he's entitled to do and he can hold the same opinions he always had while he does it (which is my argument).
No, I've got no problem with anyone doing anything in or with Saudi Arabia. After all, it's somehow Britain's best friend in the Middle East despite all the people in this country decrying its human rights record. I've got a problem with the extreme hypocrisy of people like Jordan Henderson.
I asked before in this thread but genuinely, somebody please post what is hypocritical. Just posting standard pro LGBTQ statements isn't him saying that he will actively fight it his whole career, it isn't him saying he would never go to Saudi. Why can't he have an opinion and then live his life elsewhere in what is basically retirement? Again, if he said he would never go to a league like the Saudi league, or if he said he'd actively fight it all the time, then fair enough. But to me it just seems like he said a few nice and reasonable things which got latched on and idolized and people then took that as if he is the leader of the movement and he'd take every moral consideration into account when picking what club or country he plays for... It's a big stretch.
I'd have dinner with Boris every week if I was paid 5 times my annual salary. Id even give him a cuddle every other month if we had banoffee pie for desert.
No it does not make the Saudi's hypocrites. I assume the main function of buying Henderson is to have a scapegoat that eases future transfers. Bringing in Muller or Neuer would have the same sports-washing effect. It is simply a genius move to open the gates for every single player sitting on the fence considering pros and cons by going to Saudi Arabia.
As a default I do not expect any high morals or ethics by footballers as I don't have it myself. I buy my clothes from child labour in Bandladesh and my phone from factories in China with suicide nets outside the windows.
I didn't have a problem with Ronaldo going to Saudi Arabia and I didn't have a problem when Stevie G-had went to get paid either.
I do however have a problem with Hendo accepting their offer. He voluntarely put himself in this spot by feeding off from the "Human rights"-bluff and built a image/career by talking loud and holy about equal rights for everyone. Doing that shit comes with certain responsibilities. It is now time for him to suck it up and go somewhere else and not function as pandoras box for the Sportswashing-project in Saudi Arabia.
Just sounds like he knows his career at Liverpool is coming to an end, and he'd rather earn £700 K per week for his last 2-3 years, rather than £50 k at Fulham or similar. I doubt Klopp put up much of a fight.
You'd think they were signing 25 year old prime Gerrard the way the journos were going on about it on SSN last night.
You'd think they were signing 25 year old prime Gerrard the way the journos were going on about it on SSN last night.
I doubt he was expecting the backlash from Liverpool supporters (which is actually quite fierce from what I have seen on Reddit/forums). I wonder if it will give him pause for thought.
Losing that “Liverpool captain who stand up for what he believes In” reputation might not be worth the millions. It’s everything he has worked to construct for the last decade after being initially derided.
I didn’t read the same backlash about Gerrard making his move, but then he didn’t set himself up as an ally of any group in particular.
Losing that “Liverpool captain who stand up for what he believes In” reputation might not be worth the millions. It’s everything he has worked to construct for the last decade after being initially derided.
I didn’t read the same backlash about Gerrard making his move, but then he didn’t set himself up as an ally of any group in particular.
And if you were someone who had criticised Boris beforehand and used your public platform to do so, that would make you a massive hypocrite. Which is absolutely fine for some, but it doesn't change the fact it's hypocrisy at its finest.
You're either expecting a perfect ally or holding him to a higher standard because he's rich and famous. Both are unrealistic.