Boxing champ tells 100k followers that kids ‘shouldn’t see’ a man with long hair and earrings
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 23: Boxer, Billy Joe Saunders speaks during a Frank Warren Press Conference at the BT Tower on January 23, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
A boxing champion has shared a photo of a shop assistant saying that kids “shouldn’t see” him because he has long hair and earrings.
Billy Joe Saunders, a WBO middleweight champion shared a photo of a shop assistant in Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre.
The photo, shared to some 92,000 followers, was of Johnny Marsh, who has long hair, wears makeup and earrings.
Saunders wrote: “Walking through Meadowhall Sheffield and see this – confused”.
The 27-year-old boxer who represented Team GB at the Olympics, later said in a tweet responding to criticism: “Its up to him I don’t dislike him but don’t think it’s right for kids to see that’s all.”
Marsh, who was identified as male by the South Yorkshire Times, responded to post about the incident, criticising Saunders for the tweet.
He said: “So today someone came to my workplace and took a photo of me, unbeknown to me to then post a hateful tweet about me! “They are supposedly someone who is representing Great Britain?
“How can someone is representing MY COUNTRY publicly shame someone for how they look and their gender?
“The comments on this post about me are vile, but do I care about the small words? No.
“If anything these small annoying things make me feel stronger in myself and more proud to be me!”
He added: “I really don’t think my gender needs putting in a box. I am me, Jon.”
Saunders later tweeted: “I don’t Nw [sic] him he might be a nice kid like but not my cup tea”.
And as many criticised him for the tweet, he added: “Right not gonna sit on Twitter and ague with small minded people today you only want more followers.”
Glamour model Amber Jayne weighed in saying: “Takes a pic of someone who’s gender he’s confused by in order to cause embarrassment and then calls others small minded?”
To which Saunders responded: “Ha rich that from you”.
She later added: “In what way? Please do elaborate… are we going down the whole… “you’re a porn whore route” carry on running with the cave man baton.”
PinkNews has chosen not to republish Saunders’ original tweet with the image of Marsh for his privacy.
Saunders is by no means the first boxer to air questionable views on LGBT people.
Tyson Fury returned to boxing this year after he quit over a “witch hunt” because he compared gay people to paedophiles.
Fury was previously controversially nominated for the BBC’s Sports ‘Personality’ award – despite claiming that homosexuality and paedophilia will bring about the apocalypse.
The boxer consistently stood by his comments and denied being homophobic – while also claiming that sex with children was legalised by a fictional ‘Gay Rights Act 1977‘.
He later sparked further outrage after making homophobic, sexist and antisemitic comments in an hour-long video rant.
