You might not think it possible but people are doing a disservice to ‘banter’.
For a brief, brief period there, there was an opportunity to pass some close-to-the-bone jokes off as ‘just banter’ but then Richard Keys started using it, loads more jumped on and it got to the point where Billy Joe Saunders thinks that making a woman with a drug addiction slap a stranger on the face on the promise of ‘crack’ is just banter gone wrong.
As if they almost nailed it but fell just short. As if they were in the right area when taking the piss out of someone with an addiction and asking them to perform sex acts – and recording it all the while – but, in the end, it was just banter that they got wrong. Still banter though, right?
That’s how you end up with the nothing apology that the WBO World Middleweight champion issued on Tuesday.
After pulling over to goad a woman with a drug addiction and offer her £150 worth of drugs, Saunders and his two mates (one of them recording from the back seat), asked if she would perform a sex act for the drugs and then told her to hit a passer-by whilst labelling him a paedophile, which she did.
As the woman was then caught arguing with the stranger, Saunders drove off to fits of laughter.
But he’s sorry – to anyone who took offence.
Apologise to everybody who’s took offence totally in the wrong ‘ can’t do anything But be sorry ‘ banter when wrong ‘ Apologies once again
— billyjoesaunders (@bjsaunders_) September 18, 2018
Philly McMahon is a man who has done tremendous work in the area of drug addiction.
The six-time All-Ireland winner isn’t just a star on the field, he has held himself remarkably well off it too and the Ballymun native has done his community and this field proud with two appearances on The Late Late Show as standout examples of when he moved the nation.
Philly lost a brother to drug addiction and it’s naturally a subject close to his heart but to see someone like Billy Joe Saunders, with his profile and his influence, behave like he did, his choice of words with ‘disgusting and sickening’ were bang on the money.
Just seen the @bjsaunders_ video of him and his mates degrading a vulnerable woman with an addiction. Disgusting and sickening. #coward
— Philly Mc Mahon (@PhillyMcMahon) September 18, 2018
He was degrading a woman, making light of her addiction, taking advantage of her vulnerability and laughing all the while.
Saunders will face a misconduct charge from the British Boxing Board of Control and he’s now subject to an investigation from Nottinghamshire Police.
“A woman is offered drugs in exchange for committing an act of violence, and potentially committing a sex act in public,” a police spokesperson said.
“Officers will be looking to identify and speak to all of those who feature in this sickening video, and a full investigation will be carried out into the number of offences that have been captured on film, including the offer to supply Class A drugs, aiding and abetting an assault, assault and public order offences.”
