Former Hibs’ star Michael Weir returned to Easter Road as the club hosted a Show Racism the Red Card education event that was attended by Broughton Primary School and Leith Walk Primary School.
Michael joined first-team player Adam Eckersley to talk about his career and the ways to combat racism, and they were joined by former Hearts and Rangers footballer Derek Ferguson.
The popular winger believes that it is important to educated children early on, as it encourages positive behaviour and allows them to learn how to identify racist behaviour and how to improve themselves as a person.
Michael told Hibs TV : “I explained to the kids that when we were younger that you went with the norm and the way that you spoke and the way that you acted. We feel that by going round and speaking to kids at a young age and really educating them is the way forward.
“I think if I had been treated in that manner, and educated as a young player, then it wouldn’t have taken me so long to realise that it wasn’t the right way to speak to people. It’s working. Slowly but surely we’re getting there.
“I think the respect has definitely developed and it’s going to take a little bit more time, we’re not there yet, it’s not the kind of thing that happens overnight. We’ve been at it a long time, but we’re certainly making progress.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
