Raheem Sterling has been the centre of attention over the past few days, after the player was allegedly racially abused during Manchester City's 2-0 loss to Chelsea on Saturday evening. He acknowledged the event in an Instagram post on Sunday morning, flipping the narrative of the story to question the media's role in such incidents.
His post has led many to question the way in which the British media cover young black athletes, in comparison to their white peers. Sterling seemingly suggested that this difference in coverage can fuel racist behaviour amongst fans:
So for all the newspapers that don’t understand why people are racist in this day and age all I have to say is have a second thought about fair publicity and give all players an equal chance.
The player himself has been a target of media for a number of years, with some very odd stories published relating to his personal and professional life.
A twitter thread posted in May of this year has compiled many of the headlines that have been targeted at the England International, going all the way back to 2014. Looking at some of the examples below, it is not difficult to see why some may feel that there is a clear agenda on display.
The thread can be viewed in full here. Whether he is accused of spending too much money, or not spending enough, it is clear that there is a media obsession with Raheem Sterling.
Some, such as Neil Custis, have made the argument that the media coverage of Sterling is nothing out of the ordinary, comparing it to other England stars such as Wayne Rooney and David Beckham.
While media coverage of footballers is common, there seems to be plenty of evidence that players of different backgrounds are covered in vastly different manners.
Sterling's former media advisor Paul McCarthy took to twitter last night to share his experiences of the media, and it did not make for pretty reading.
When acting as a media advisor to @sterling7 , I once asked a tabloid news reporter who had written several derogatory stories about Raheem why he was singled out above seemingly every other Premier League footballer for this kind of treatment.
— Paul McCarthy (@PaulMcCarthy66) December 9, 2018
Despite a lengthy discussion, the reporter couldn't give me any answer other than, 'Well, you know, Raheem should expect it. That's just how it is.'
— Paul McCarthy (@PaulMcCarthy66) December 9, 2018
How it is indeed, grim to say the least.
