The decision of West Ham United defender Kurt Zouma to slap and kick one of his cats has ignited a full-blown racial debate on all forms of mass media platforms, especially social media.
Recall that a video surfaced online on Monday showing Kurt Zouma slapping and kicking one of his cats. The incident has made him lose his sponsorship deal with Adidas and a fine of £250,000 which is his two weeks salary.
As a cat owner, Kurt Zouma’s abuse of his pet has made me feel physically sick tonight.
— Dan Wootton (@danwootton) February 7, 2022
How could someone treat their animal like this for sport and cheap laughs?
He must never own a cat again. pic.twitter.com/tV905qI6pR
The 27-year-old French defender is also under investigation both in France and in England over the attack on the cat and he could risk going to jail for four years if found guilty of animal maltreatment in France.
People began to turn their attention away from the case of a person attacking a cat to the case of Zouma being attacked because of the color of his skin.
Burnt everything Adidas I owned in support of Zouma pic.twitter.com/SMMKewpXUl
— Felix Agola (Mr President) (@FelixAgola) February 10, 2022
The individual who first attracted people to the racial aspect of the incident was ex-goalkeeper, Chris Kirkland who claimed that Kurt Zouma’s decision to kick a cat was worse than racism.
Though he has taken to Twitter to clarify that he was not comparing animal abuse to racism, the ex-footballer has continued to be criticized for his comment.
Critics of those who are against the way Kurt Zouma has been treated so far have dug out two incidents that involved two white skin players that did not attract the kind of attraction Zouma’s incident had attracted so far.
One of such incidents some critics have cited was when Luis Suarez who was playing for Liverpool then, racially abused retired Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a Premier League game.
Evra claimed that the former Liverpool player who now plays for Atletico Madrid racially abused him 10 times during the Premier League game.
Though Suarez denied the allegation, the English FA found him guilty. He was fined £80,000 and banned for four games without losing any endorsement deal.
Another incident the critics cited was when Eden Hazard who was playing for Chelsea then kicked a ball boy identified as Charlie Morgan during a game between Chelsea and Swansea.
During the Capital One Cup semi-final game which took place in 2013, Morgan whose father is a major shareholder at Swansea decided to fall on the ball in an attempt to waste time. Eden Hazard tried to get the ball off the then 17-year-old ball-boy.
When Hazard who is currently playing for Real Madrid could not get the ball off the ball-boy with ease, he kicked the boy aggressively before he could retrieve the ball. The worst he got from the violent behavior was a straight red and a three-match ban. Chelsea lost the game to Swansea.
Eden hazard kicked a ball boy twice but ya'll didn't ask for his sacking…. Kurt Zouma is being punished due to the color of his skin.
— Ngure wa maina (@Ambrose_maine) February 10, 2022
Pure racism. pic.twitter.com/Q1NJoC5VGM
Even the ball-boy who was pressured to press charges, took to social media to say he was not going to press charges and that he had spoken to Hazard. The case ended without Hazard going to jail or losing any of his numerous endorsement deals.
Eden Hazard kicked a 17year old ball boy, and got away with only 3 match ban
— S_Deen IBN Idris ⌚ (@Real_Simk) February 10, 2022
And Pepé also got away with this
Is Cat life > Human life? pic.twitter.com/t3NmMa9Dvg
But in the case of Kurt Zouma who has apologized for kicking his cat and accepted a £250,000 fine for his attack on the cat, his critics want him to go to jail and lose his career. Hence, the question of whether those critics are fighting for the rights of the cat or fighting Zouma because of the color of his skin.
