The thing is even without weighing in on whether sacking him was right, what Hoddle did was express his views very "qualitatively", something an insult never does.
The point is insults work that way, they are meant to be insensitive. And just because someone uses an insult it doesn't necessarily say anything about their world view, or views on race, or a particular group of people. There are plenty of insults which are based on ethnicity and other non-racial qualities which can be more insensitive and have a deeper connotation than "black ****", which don't cause as much hysteria as anything race-based.
The Hoddle comparison started and ended with my point about you oversimplifying Terry's insult.
I know it doesn't mean he's an out and out racist but he referenced the colour of Anton's skin when insulting him, that's widely regarded as a racist insult. Anyone high profile would struggle to keep their job after that, they'd be groveling to cling on for it and there's good reason for it. Letting some like Terry back into the fold is counterproductive and sends the wrong message. If Anton or Rio were in the England team they wouldn't even think about it and it shouldn't matter that they aren't.


