'I'd lose my s**t': Ashton Hewitt wades into the Traore racism row
Dragons wing Ashton Hewitt has waded into the Cherif Traore racism row at Benetton, claiming there would be scenes at Rodney Parade if any of his teammates ever gave him a banana as a secret Santa present. The Italian prop took to social media on Wednesday to reveal the racist present he had been given by one of his Benetton teammates.
This resulted in a squad meeting at the club where apologies were offered to Traore and in a follow-up social media post, he suggested that Christmas was a time for forgiveness and that he was moving on from the controversy.
Traore also featured in a video on the Benetton club Twitter account that was published with the accompanying text. “How many times does it happen to make a mistake or offend a member of one’s family, many.
“Well, this time it happened inside ours. Now what matters is having understood the mistake and apologising. We are a family and as such we will move forward, together, always.”
It was in response to this tweet that Hewitt, a Welsh-based player who regularly calls out racism, gave his view on what had happened in Treviso.
If one of my teammates gifted me a rotten banana as ‘banter’ for secret Santa, there would be scenes.
If my club then got me to do a video talking about apologies and all being family after the fact where other players were laughing along, it’s safe to say i’d lose my shit. https://t.co/sqggmKVkZ1
— Ashton Hewitt ????????? (@ashton_hewitt) December 21, 2022
“If one of my teammates gifted me a rotten banana as ‘banter’ for secret Santa, there would be scenes. If my club then got me to do a video talking about apologies and all being family after the fact where other players were laughing along, it’s safe to say I’d lose my shit.”
Hewitt later added: “Benetton have demonstrated one of the reasons why people who face racism at work are often reluctant to speak up about it. It’s the ‘we don’t condone racism’ – whilst condoning racism – that gets me.
“It’s always the victims of racism that are expected to ‘rise above it’ – usually by people who don’t know what it feels like.”
Hewitt hasn’t been the only non-Benetton player to have their say about the Traore controversy. Munster’s Simon Zebo commented: “Name and shame the scumbag. Should be out of a job.”
Traore had originally written on Instagram: “As traditionally in a team, it’s secret Santa time. A friendly and playful moment. A moment where you can afford to give anonymous gifts to your mates, even stingy, ironic ones. Yesterday [Tuesday], when it was my turn, I found a banana inside my present.
“A rotten banana, inside a bag of moisture. Apart from calling the gesture offensive, what hurt me most and seeing most of my mates present laughing. As if everything is normal. I’m used to it, or better, I’ve had to get used to it, having to make a good face on a bad game whenever I hear racist jokes in order to try not to hate the people close to me.
“Yesterday was different, though. Thankfully, some comrades, especially foreigners, tried to support me. Outside Italy, a gesture like this is severely condemned even in small realities, and this time I want to say mine.
“I’ve been up all night. Young guys from different backgrounds attended this secret Santa. I have decided not to remain silent this time to ensure that episodes like this don’t happen again to prevent other people finding themselves in my current situation in the future. And hoping the sender will learn a lesson.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments