Zouma’s Harsh Punishment Elicits Uproar on Twitter

West ham and France Defender Kurt Zouma has been on the receiving end of some heavy criticism. A video of him slapping and kicking his cat went viral. Animal welfare activists, football fans, and even club sponsors have expressed their disapproval of this action.

The extent to which the repercussions of Zouma’s actions have gone, however, has caused alarm among black people on the internet. West Ham has fined the French international a total of two weeks' wages. Adidas on the other hand terminated their contract with Zouma after investigating the incident. Their statement stated

"We have concluded our investigation and can confirm Kurt Zouma is no longer an Adidas contracted athlete."

West ham’s sponsors Vitality has canceled its contract with the club. This is after the club played Zouma in the Watford match immediately after the incident took place. David Moyes, Westham, and most importantly Kurt Zouma have all offered apologies for the incident.

Supporters of the #BlackLivesMatter movement took to Twitter to express their disapproval of what they termed as racial discrimination. Zouma’s cats were both taken by the RSPCA. It is however very unfair that one black player would be singled out and punished for a simple mistake which they apologized for.

Twitter users were quick to point out instances where other white players have gotten away with a slap on the wrist after major offenses. These players include Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso who hit a woman and killed them while drunk driving,  Luis Suarez who made a career out of biting other players, and Eden Hazard who kicked a ball boy and offered the most sorry not sorry apology.

It is saddening that players of black descent are always discriminated against in football. The punishment is often too harsh even for minor offenses. Harry Maguire roughed up policemen in Greece and is still the Manchester United Captain.

Adidas who stripped Zouma of his contract and a lot of income per se uses animal hides to make their products. Black celebrities are often finding themselves in hot soup not because of the degree of their wrongdoing but because of their skin color.  

Kurt Zouma’s brother Yoan who is believed to have been taking the video has already been suspended by his club Dagenham and Redbridge until the RSPCA completes its investigation. Amidst the storm one celebrity player has stood with Zouma.

West Ham and Jamaican Striker Michail Antonio has criticized the reaction posing the question ‘Is it worse than racism?” We have seen cases of black players being racially abused with the villains walking away with very insignificant punishment and some scot-free.

“I’ve got a question for you. Do you think what he’s done is worse than racism?” “I’m not condoning a thing that he’s done, I don’t agree with what he has done at all. But there’s people that have been convicted and been caught for racism, and have played football afterwards. They got an eight-game punishment or something like that, but people are now calling for people to be sacked, for them to lose their livelihood.” Antonio spoke.