I wrote a piece two years ago for Sunday Miscellany about the first Black man I saw playing rugby for England. Chris Oti came out of nowhere, scored three tries and decimated a confidant Ireland in Twickenham.
That was the first day the crowd sang 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' in his honour and to see 65,000 White men in sheepskin coats sing a slavery anthem to the only Black guy there was quite something.
It was a good story and nicely written (ahem), but 12 hours before broadcast (9.30 Saturday night) I got an email saying the producer lost her nerve and had taken out one single line. The line was 'He was the first Black man I saw playing rugby for England'.
The entire point of the story was lost and all over the country people must have been staring at the radio saying 'what the fuck was that about?'
Here is a link to the Sunday Miscellany
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