You do realize that Cassano is nothing more than a poor-town street hood with minimal articulation skills, right? Nowhere did he say he "hates" or even "dislikes" gays in his comments. All he said is "it's their problem" as to say "it's none of my business". People are just getting caught up in the terminology that he chose to use, but that's to be expected from someone that has minimal education like he does. Worst part is that the journalists knew full well what they were doing when approaching someone like Cassano with this type of question. They know he isn't the brightest person and has virtually no filter when it comes to his opinions. This was a deliberate attempt (once again) by the football media to create a shit storm and a distraction.
If it was anyone else who said this nobody would of made a sh!t storm about it...bottom line is he didnt answer a hot question in a politically correct fashion end of story also that question should never been asked...cassano should just said ma che cazz na' frega te to the jurno...
I don't buy anything you are trying to sell here. - Cassano maybe an idiot without an education, but we are at the Euro with the eyes on the world on us. He should have known better and the management should have known better. - it's not as innocent as you make it out to be, he used a derogatory word to describe homosexuals. Perhaps for lack of a better word, but derogatory none the less. He's not in a bar with friends, but on TV where things are documented and not immediately forgotten. He's also not a stupid kid anymore, but a 30 year old father. Secondly he didn't limit himself to a "it's their problem" but also threw in a nice comment about hoping their are none on the team. - Blamming the journalists in opinion is plain sad. For the record I don't think it's even a big deal. But there is no denying he went out there and made a complete fool of himself. It's sad to see people can't separate themselves from the players they like and start making lame excuses like blaming the journalist. As if a journalist should go and not ask certain questions because the guy being interviewed is stupid. I wonder how people would be reacting had Balotelli been the one making a fool of himself.
I'm not trying to "sell" anything. I'm just pointing out the reality of how it is, and what happened. The journalists in attendance knew exactly what they were doing in this case, and Cassano bit on it. They found the perfect pawn so to speak. If anything I blame the NT/FIGC for allowing the biggest mouth on their team to sit in front of a microphone during a time that these rumors were circulating. You'd think that, considering all the controversy that has surrounded Italian football over the years, they'd be a little more knowledgeable in the area of effective (and calculated) media relations techniques. If they were going to allow Cassano to give an interview then the onus is on them to make sure he's prepped ahead of time for certain potential questions so he wouldn't risk making a fool of himself and his country.
I don't have a vendetta against Cassano I just don't want to cut players slack because they are OUR players. When Totti hacked down Balotelli in the Coppa Italia game against Inter I had plenty of criticism for him and that's a player I really like. Meanwhile others immediately started with "Balotelli must have said something to him" and a bunch of other excuses. Would people here that are trying to put this on the journalist do the same if it was Christiano Ronaldo that made the comments? Like I said I don't think it's a big deal, but I'd also like to spare ourselves looking like fools on an international stage. As an Italian that lives abroad in Europe I'm tired of us looking like fools, I endured too much of it with Berlusconi. Look at how Pirlo handled it: "I'm here to talk about football."
While I don't condone what he said, the media creates the story to read how they want it. For instance ESPN/Soccernet, I know...not always the best writing, has contrasting stories for the US site and the UK site. US website. UK website. The UK site focuses on the apology, whereas the US site has no article that notes the apology or contains any further quotes.
This is plain old homophobia. National team members represent their nation. They're ambassadors for their country. A proper code of conduct is expected. Part of the honour of wearing the shirt. Doesn't the Italian FA make this clear to players? Cassano's homophobia poorly reflects on his character. And courting such controversy is a disservice to the team and nation. He messed up and certainly had to apologise for it. One can hope he learns from this and becomes a more mature person and more professional person in public.
Not at all related. Homophobia and racism are both forms of hate, but they are not similar. If a player is gay no one in the crowd will know unless he says so. Balotelli is black, always and forever, he can not hide from that. So cut the crap.
Clearly Pirlo has been coached in how to interact with the media. This is obviously the way how to avoid courting controversy. Nowadays, it's part of a footballer's trade to interact with the media. Cassano's a veteran player. A pro. Surely he must have received some coaching to that end. Yet he nonetheless made an "unforced error". He should know better. Blaming the media for their questions is such a fanboyish - dare I say Palin-esque? - response.
Let's talk about Cassano's on-field performances... or lack thereof should I say. He was terrible out there today. Didn't do squat for us.
Start Giovinco with Balotelli and let them run against the Irish. Save Cassano for the second half. Use him if we need to score or keep possession to hold the lead. He does not have 60 minutes in his leg and this is the third match of the tournament.
From what I've seen of Cassano in the first two matches, I would welcome Balo+Toto or Gio. Cassano looks slow and off, not dangerous AT ALL. If he's not 100% fit and in form, we shouldn't be starting him.
While Cassano is a moron, the journalist who has made it his personal crusade to out the azzurri gay players is a gigantic moron and an attention whore. Nice try though