Most likely a young naïve player who is in the pocket of some journo. A senior player would be more careful.
I have my suspicions of who it might've been....a Harry favourite who shares his surname with a famous author....
I've read this morning that Roy in fact didn't tell the whole joke (which did sound a bit long-winded for a half-time talk) but in fact just said "feed the monkey" in the mistaken belief that the players would be familiar with the joke. This explains a few things, notably why he apologised at the time, and how some of the players might have interpreted it the way they did. So given that apparent lack of context, it was a pretty silly thing to say. I think everyone realises it wasn't meant to cause offence but he probably should have been more careful.
Just watched a bit of X-factor and a singer referred to a little black kid as a monkey, but as he himself was black no offence was taken. The word monkey isn't always meant to be offensive, sometimes you have to be careful...but carelessness can sometimes indicate a complete absence of racism (because you don't give a person's colour any thought). Running to the press won't win anyone favours in the dressing room.
Indeed not, but it's far from clear that that's what happened. A player who might fairly have been taken aback by the comment might have told a friend, or an agent, and then they tell someone else, and it gets into the press that way, without a player necessarily being responsible.
