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'Utter embarrassment': Stephen Jones panned over 'pretty low' joke

New Zealand's wing Caleb Clarke scores wearing an armband in honour of the late king (Photo by PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP) (Photo by PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images)

Outspoken Sunday Times columnist Stephen Jones has been panned for a joke he made about the name of a recently deceased Maori King.

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Kiingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero the Seventh died three days ago at age of 69, surrounded by his wife and three children. The king had been recovering in hospital from heart surgery shortly after celebrating the 18th anniversary of his coronation.

New Zealand wore black armbands in honour of his passing at Ellis Park in their 31-27 defeat to South Africa in Ellis Park on Saturday.

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      Jones suggested the length of the late king’s name would have been too long to fit on the All Blacks jersey, had he ever represented New Zealand.

      Writing in the newspaper the Welsh rugby pundit wrote: “The All Blacks took the field wearing black armbands in honour of Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero the Seventh, the Maori king who passed away last week. No doubt very sad, although thank God he never made the All Blacks because they would never have space to put his name on a jersey.”

      The line hasn’t played well on X, where he has been criticised for his, insensitivity, the fact that he appeared to be making fun of the length of his name and the fact that the joke doesn’t even make sense.

      Edward Jenkins posted: ‘Stephen Jones being an utter embarrassment’ alongside a screenshot of the sentence.

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      “Jaysus… That’s pretty low,” wrote one rugby fan, while another posted: “What a dreadful take and an embarrassment to the sport he is. Would he dare write the same about Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Mountbatten-Windsor II?”

      Squidge Rugby pointed out: “I mean besides everything else the All Blacks jerseys don’t have names on the back and never have.”

      One French user wrote: ‘Je vois que Stephen Jones est toujours aussi con’ which translates to ‘I see Stephen Jones is still as stupid as ever’.

      A minority came to Jones’ defence, one writing: “Sounds like a harmless joke about him having a long name – maybe could have worded it better but there’s no malice there at all. Certainly not racist.”

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      Comments

      10 Comments
      S
      SteveD 212 days ago

      Oh really. Typical fake anger from the kiwis. Grow up and stop trying to make anything anti-NZ into a major incident. Anyway, at least the delay let the crowd enjoy the flypast instead of the haka.

      D
      DS 211 days ago

      Really. Jones has made a career out of abusing / demeaning the ABs and NZ in general. People like you enjoy reading his put downs but are super sensitive if it affects your team or country. Jones is a massive hypocrite who would go apoplectic if Wales was ever criticised.

      B
      BH 212 days ago

      No surprises given that he is a disgraceful journalist anyway. Making a bad joke about a dead person is low even for SJ.

      T
      Terry24 212 days ago

      Making bad jokes about certain dead people is ok in his eyes showing how low he really is.

      G
      GL 212 days ago

      Check on the Welsh team Jones and assess any progress in XXI

      B
      Bruiser 213 days ago

      Hes probably still chuckling to himself. He calls it irony

      P
      Poorfour 213 days ago

      It is baffling that he is still employed. The quality of his journalism and analysis has long since reached the point where I simply assume that any opinion he offers is the opposite of what I should believe.

      F
      Forward pass 211 days ago

      You only have to look at sites like this one and like "The ROAR" to know that the worse the journalism the more clicks it gets. Clicks is what life has become all about. Angry clicks are better than happy clicks.

      d
      dk 213 days ago

      I couldn't agree more. If I was as poor at my job as he is at his, I would have been fired years ago.

      T
      Terry24 213 days ago

      Jones is a known xenophobe. He hides it in jokes and disproportionately targets particular groups for criticism. Hes being doing it about Irish/rugby too. Zero surprise to see him mask this racist comment as a 'joke'.

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      Patrickhill300 1 hour ago
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      JW 2 hours ago
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      Well obviously NZR is not beholden to revenue then Marshall.


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      So you need to get outside you bubble Tim Horan and think about reality. First, did Australians need something to do on ANZAC day (assuming it was for the weekend celebration day proposal) or have they been brainwashed into disconnecting with their mates and connecting with the TV. What purpose does it provide other than financially essentially? Then ask yourself that same question for the communities out side of that, through Aus and then into NZ and around the pacific, world even.


      We don’t need your shortshighted aussie brain calling out NZR thanks.


      NZR also doesn’t want to destroy a good thing that is SRs revival amongst wider entertainment enjoyer base, and having a SR break/interruption was a big driver towards fans turning off previously. You’d have to wait at least a few years before they feel comfortable in disrupting that again. Actually having it at the beggining of 2027, World Cup year in Australia, might actually be the most sensible thing (though I actually really like Utiku’s idea). It would both drum up support and get the spotlight on rugby early in the season, helping anticipation/buildup for the big event, and more importantly, give the sides an extra game that year to get things right for a tilt at thge trophy.

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