Former England international Theo Walcott harshly criticized England players' behavior towards Alzheimer's ball boys in a recent friendly match during the show, and questioned whether the players truly understood the charity activities they...
Former England international Theo Walcott harshly criticized England players' behavior towards Alzheimer's ball boys in a recent friendly match during the show, and questioned whether the players truly understood the charity activities they were involved in.
You noticed something that frustrated you during the friendly match between England and Wales. Can you talk about it specifically?
There was a very beautiful moment in that game, in order to raise awareness about Alzheimer's disease and dementia, they arranged for older fans with these diseases to come in as ball boys and the players walked them out holding hands. However, during the national anthem, I did notice that they left two of them behind, one of whom was still in a wheelchair. They all huddled with their ball boys as the Welsh national anthem was played. But the sad thing about the England side... the players were all huddled together and the gentleman in the wheelchair was left there with no one trying to help.
This seems to be more than just an oversight, do you think this reflects a deeper issue with the players?
This is where I get frustrated. When I see players involved in something, I always wonder: are they really conscious? Do they really know what they are getting into? Do they even know about these charities? Sometimes players don't really understand what they're doing at the time, and that's the frustrating part. They should be aware of this because it is very important to recognize this disease.
You mentioned the responsibility of the players, especially on such a special occasion.
I don’t want to criticize players by name. However, this just shows a mentality where people and players forget about the people (around them). It was a very funny and sad moment when I saw the gentleman in the wheelchair. Yes, you are a football player, but please take a little responsibility in taking care of your ball boy. It doesn't matter whether they're kids or elders and I think that's the one thing that pissed me off about the whole tour of England.
What are the subsequent consequences of this incident?
You have to realize that their families saw this and they will remember it. In that moment, the caddy himself won't remember it, and that's the sad truth when you think about it. I don’t want to dwell on this, but it was really sad to see. I think the FA should really look at themselves in this regard.
