Australian women’s football team captain Sam Kerr was at the centre of a controversy that has sparked debate about free speech, race, and privilege.
Last year, Kerr was charged with racially aggravated harassment after calling a Metropolitan police officer “fucking stupid and white”. The charge was filed when she was out on a night out in south-west London before returning home to her partner, Kristie Mewis.
Kerr claimed that she had been held hostage in a taxi and that the driver had taken her to Twickenham police station. Her claims were quickly dismissed by officers who doubted her assertions about calling for emergency services from inside the taxi.
The situation escalated when Kerr described feeling “antagonised” by officers, calling one of them “sick” and a “white privileged man”. She also made references to Sarah Everard, who was abducted and murdered by a police officer in London in March 2021.
Kerr’s lawyer has called the conduct of police and their failure to take her claims seriously “completely unacceptable”. The case highlights that the law does not discriminate between different races when it comes to racist language.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/11/sam-kerr-trial-how-a-drunken-night-revealed-questions-race-power-and-privilege-ntwnfb