Racism in sport: 'I was called "bling" because I was black' - Micah Richards From the sectionFootball Share this page Micah Richards Micah Richards retired in 2019 following a number of injury-affected seasons Former England defender Micah Richards says he was unfairly labelled as someone who flaunted his wealth during his career because of his race. Richards, who played for Manchester City and Aston Villa, said he was dubbed the "bling king" by the media in reference to him buying expensive cars. He said this led to him altering his behaviour. "I found myself having to act in a certain way just to fit in so people wouldn't judge me," said Richards. "I had just played for England, I was black, I had an Audi and a Range Rover. There were a couple of stories circulating about me and I got labelled the 'bling king'. "But every week there was a story about me saying I wasn't concentrating on football and it took me six or seven years to shake that tag off. "I remember my agent saying a team were interested in me but they weren't sure about your private life and I'm thinking 'hold on, you are judging me, you don't know me'. "I knew that I had to change to fit in. I have a personality and I like to joke but for two years in training I was silent because I didn't want anyone to judge me on my character." 'The only disease right now is racism' - Sterling supports protests Watch the full Sterling interview on Newsnight on BBC Two on Monday at 22:45 BST 'Not the job of athletes to fix racism' Richards was speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live following days of Black Lives Matter marches across the UK, in response to the death of American George Floyd. Floyd, 46, died after being arrested on 25 May in Minneapolis. The four officers involved in his arrest have since been charged over the death, which sparked days of protests in the US and demonstrations across the world. A number of sportspeople have spoken out in the wake of the protests and the way it has affected their lives, including Richards' fellow footballer Raheem Sterling, who told the BBC that the fight against racism is "the most important thing at this moment in time." Raheem Sterling: "The only disease right now is the racism that we're fighting" Richards said he felt unable to speak up about racism during his career for fear of repercussions. "At times I felt scared to speak out about what was right and what was wrong," he added. "I didn't want to say anything out of line because I felt it would affect my career. "Every time I was asked about it, I would always say my piece but looking back over my career there have certainly been times I have not come out and said what I wanted because of the repercussions I felt would happen to me in terms of how people would perceive me. "If you are in a white-dominated sport and the people at the top of that are predominantly white males, you don't want to step out of line. "It is good that people are using their platform now. We can't just leave it any more. Not just in England and the United States, but around the world, now is the time. "I think the tide is slowly turning." Share this page Top Stories Raheem Sterling playing for Manchester City Football needs more black managers - Sterling 8 JunFrom the sectionFootball Read more on Football needs more black managers - Sterling Lewis Hamilton Remove all racist symbols - Hamilton 8 JunFrom the sectionFormula 1 Read more on Remove all racist symbols - Hamilton American heavyweight Deontay Wilder and Britain's Tyson Fury during their second fight at Las Vegas in February 2020 Fury-Wilder III on Boxing Day in Australia? 8 JunFrom the sectionBoxing Read more on Fury-Wilder III on Boxing Day in Australia? 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Racism in sport: 'I was called "bling" because I was black' - Micah Richards

From the sectionFootball

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Micah Richards

Micah Richards retired in 2019 following a number of injury-affected seasons

Former England defender Micah Richards says he was unfairly labelled as someone who flaunted his wealth during his career because of his race.

Richards, who played for Manchester City and Aston Villa, said he was dubbed the "bling king" by the media in reference to him buying expensive cars.

He said this led to him altering his behaviour.

"I found myself having to act in a certain way just to fit in so people wouldn't judge me," said Richards.

"I had just played for England, I was black, I had an Audi and a Range Rover. There were a couple of stories circulating about me and I got labelled the 'bling king'.

"But every week there was a story about me saying I wasn't concentrating on football and it took me six or seven years to shake that tag off.

"I remember my agent saying a team were interested in me but they weren't sure about your private life and I'm thinking 'hold on, you are judging me, you don't know me'.

"I knew that I had to change to fit in. I have a personality and I like to joke but for two years in training I was silent because I didn't want anyone to judge me on my character."

'The only disease right now is racism' - Sterling supports protests

Watch the full Sterling interview on Newsnight on BBC Two on Monday at 22:45 BST

'Not the job of athletes to fix racism'

Richards was speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live following days of Black Lives Matter marches across the UK, in response to the death of American George Floyd.

Floyd, 46, died after being arrested on 25 May in Minneapolis. The four officers involved in his arrest have since been charged over the death, which sparked days of protests in the US and demonstrations across the world.

A number of sportspeople have spoken out in the wake of the protests and the way it has affected their lives, including Richards' fellow footballer Raheem Sterling, who told the BBC that the fight against racism is "the most important thing at this moment in time."

Raheem Sterling: "The only disease right now is the racism that we're fighting"

Richards said he felt unable to speak up about racism during his career for fear of repercussions.

"At times I felt scared to speak out about what was right and what was wrong," he added. "I didn't want to say anything out of line because I felt it would affect my career.

"Every time I was asked about it, I would always say my piece but looking back over my career there have certainly been times I have not come out and said what I wanted because of the repercussions I felt would happen to me in terms of how people would perceive me.

"If you are in a white-dominated sport and the people at the top of that are predominantly white males, you don't want to step out of line.

"It is good that people are using their platform now. We can't just leave it any more. Not just in England and the United States, but around the world, now is the time.

"I think the tide is slowly turning."

Share this page

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An image depicting the features of the BBC Sport app - notifications on a home screen and the home page

Football notifications, social media and more

Get latest scores and headlines sent straight to your phone, sign-up to our newsletter and learn where to find us on online.

Read more on Football notifications, social media and more

Gossip column logo

Today's football gossip

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Phil McNulty

Phil McNulty

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Women playing football

How to get into football

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