Micah Richards has had to put up with the racism that appears to come the way of black people and footballers with alarming regularity, something he alludes to in an upcoming programme.
The now Sky Sports pundit has become a must-see presence alongside the likes of Roy Keane and Gary Neville, and is there on merit and for the way in which he analyses games rather than the colour of his skin.
MORE: Conor McGregor KNOCKED OUT at UFC257!
There’ll still be some that believe it’s a box ticking exercise that the likes of Richards and Alex Scott are integrated into the various broadcasting teams in order for more diversity, but therein lies the problem.
It’s perhaps to that end why Richards has the upmost respect for Colin Kaepernick.
The NFL player took a knee well before it was hijacked by the Black Lives Matter movement, and in so doing, arguably jeopardised his career.
“For someone to put his whole life on the line for the good of the people, at one of the worst possible times to do that, he probably had death threats and his life was probably hell, I can’t have any more respect for him,” Richards said on the programme Micah Richards: Tackling Racism in Football, cited by Sky Sports.
“Would I put my whole career on the line the way he did? Probably not. People are talking about Black Lives Matter now because it’s fashionable but for him to do it then, I just have so much respect for him.”
There’s still a long, long way to go to eradicate racism in society generally and in football more specifically.
If Richards and others can keep the conversation front and centre, then there’s every chance that headway can be made and attitudes can be changed, which can only be good for the game.