Colin Sheridan: Taking the knee and holding heads high

Me lecturing anybody on race would be as ill-judged as me lecturing a mother of 10 on childbirth

England’s Mason Mount and Declan Rice take the knee before their Euro 2020 opener against Croatia at Wembley. Picture: Nick Potts

Growing up in the West of Ireland, I was pretty much unaware of class and race. The only abuse of note I ever took from anybody was because my dad was the school headmaster, and I was into Ace of Base. There was no fear of gang violence or kidnap. The only crimes to speak of were those committed against football in the park every Sunday afternoon.

Undoubtedly there were social issues, just like everywhere else, but to my innocent eyes, they were hidden from view. What a privileged childhood to have. Privileged, but undeniably sheltered. There were two black people in my life; Paul McGrath, then of Aston Villa and Ireland, and Ballina basketballer Deora Marsh. It never occurred to me that their worldview might be different to mine.