Canadian soccer fans offended by reporter’s comments about Alphonso Davies

By Lincoln DePradine

Alphonso Davies

Canadians of all walks of life, including Black community members, have been expressing public outrage and anger at a CBC sports reporter’s commentary on football star Alphonso Davies, calling his comments unfair and even racist.

“I’m biting my tongue. Maybe, it is time to defund CBC,’’ said Trinidad-born entertainer Henry “King Cosmos’’ Gomez, responding to the commentary by Chris Jones.

At the FIFA World Cup of football in Qatar, Davies scored Canada’s only goal in a 4-1 lost to Croatia. It’s also the first time Canada ever has scored at a World Cup tournament.

Canada and 15 other countries, including Germany, Belgium and Mexico, were eliminated after the first round of competition. The World Cup quarter-final begins Friday, December 9, with Brazil playing Croatia and with Argentina against the Netherlands.

Chris Jones

Jones, a CBC senior contributor covering the World Cup, complained about Davies wearing diamond earrings, not making himself more available to reporters in Qatar, and of the player having “benefitted from a federally funded program in Canada Soccer’’.

“When you’re wearing a Canada Soccer shirt, you’re no longer a private enterprise. You’re part of a public trust. Bigger players on bigger teams accept those terms,’’ Jones wrote.

“Davies wears diamond earrings that probably cost more than James Pantemis’s annual salary at CF Montreal,’’ he added. “Davies, wielding his celebrity like a weapon, has signed his own deal with Canada Soccer for jersey rights; the rest of his teammates are still waiting for theirs.’’

Readers, responding to Jones on social media and on the CBC website, savaged him for his comments. One person said that Jones was suggesting that “Canada owns Davies’’, and questioned why no similar claim ever has been made of Canada owning its national hockey players.

Henry King Cosmos Gomez

“What a joke of an article,’’ another person, Karl Tegenfeldt, commented. “Grasping at non-existent straws and so clearly not based on reality. Come off it, man; you didn’t have to try very hard to come with better than this.’’

Toronto writer Adam Laskaris pushed back on Jones, saying, “Alphonso Davies (and his celebrity status) is far from Canada’s biggest problem at the FIFA World Cup’’.

The entire tone of the article by Jones “is one to shake your head at’’, said Laskaris.

“He might be a problem for you, Chris, but he sure as hell isn’t one for the Canadian team,’’ Laskaris said. “It’s not Alphonso Davies’ fault his teammates can’t afford diamond earrings.’’

Laskaris advised Jones to, “get your head out of the grass’’.

According to Laskaris, “in a country that has produced only a handful of true superstars in soccer on the men’s or women’s side, Davies is right now in a celebrity class of his own amongst his men’s national team peers. There’s nary a person who has interacted with him that has found Davies to be unpleasant’’.

Gomez, who also is an educator, questioned whether Jones was “piggybacking on Davies to get some attention’’, or whether he’s “an insensitive hack trying to build a reputation’’.

“Davies made Canadian history,’’ said Gomez, “for which he should be highly praised, not picked apart. He and the entire Canadian cohort should be lionized.’’