Jason Sherlock said he was "encouraged" and "delighted" to see the reaction of Lee Chin's Wexford teammates when they heard racist abuse being aimed at the All-Star forward during a charity hurling game against Tipperary on Saturday.
Wexford players immediately confronted a spectator at the Carrick Swan venue, letting them know what had been said was wrong. The game was ended early by the referee. Chin, whose father is Malaysian, was born in Wexford.
"I saw the footage," former Dublin footballer and coach Sherlock, who suffered racist abuse during his sporting career, told Newstalk Breakfast.
"Sport is a special place, and it has to do its part to ensure the right behaviour is tolerated. That's one piece I was encouraged by in the video, the response of Lee's teammates.
"When I played, no one knew what was right or wrong. The players, you could see, knew that this was wrong, and was out of order. I was delighted to see that.
"I hope Lee took a lot of reassurance in the response of the players, that they were there to support him and they understood that this was wrong."
12 March 2023; Lee Chin of Wexford is tackled by Ciarán Joyce, left, and Luke Meade of Cork during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A match between Cork and Wexford at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Sherlock, whose father was from Hong Kong, said he got to know Chin a number of years ago.
"He was one of the reasons why I spoke out about the racist abuse I would have received on the sports field," said Sherlock.
"He's a very humble, hardworking and determined guy. Lee will know - I hope Lee knows - that he's not the one with the problem in this situation. It's a horrible experience to go through. It's something that the majority of people in Ireland don't have to go through.
"The reality of sport is that it mirrors society. You don't have to look too far to get a feel of the tones and messages that are out there at the moment. The reality is that there are always people who are going to be ill-informed and don't understand the impact of their actions."
While Sherlock says punishment for such incidents does need to be dealt out, he believes education is a more effective tool. In February, the GAA adopted more severe punishments for racist abuse and can now impose a 48-week ban. Repeat offenders can be banned for 96 weeks.
21 May 2022; Lee Chin of Wexford arrives for the Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 5 match between Kilkenny and Wexford at UPMC Nowlan Park in Kilkenny. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Wexford GAA chairman Micheál Martin said on Monday that an investigation into the incident is underway and that "there is a number of options open to the committee up to expulsion from the association".
"It’s about the GAA doing as much as it can to ensure when a young boy or girl arrives up with their parents to a GAA field that they’re accepted and that they can have that connection to their club - like I did," added Sherlock.
"The reality is that one punishment for one person isn't going to be the answer. It's about doing as much as we can to educate, and that we don't tolerate the racist behaviour that we see in that video.
"We do need to act on it to ensure the GAA are taking it serious but if we think this is going to cure everything, or that's the solution, unfortunately, it is not."
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