The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Thursday, October 1

Hi, everyone!

Today at the top is new Tottenham defender Shelina Zadorsky.

Ramble of the Day

The BBC’s Jane Dougall, Katie Falkingham, and Kate McKenna interviewed Kaiya McCullough, a player who recently left the NWSL for the German second division. She has been relatively well-known since her college years as a player who consistently kneeled for the anthem as a player at UCLA and continued that during her short rookie season with the Washington Spirit this year. She ended up wanting to leave the U.S., though, and she explained why in the interview, but this particular quote stood out to me:

There were parts when I was asked to compartmentalise what was going on in the world and just focus on my sport, but being a Black woman I can’t do that, I can’t take off the colour of my skin, I can’t turn off the feelings of grief that I feel as I mourn with my community.

Frankly, it’s sad McCullough had to go through that experience. I’m reminded of a British Vogue piece that I shared in June by psychologist Samantha Rennalls on racial trauma. She wrote about the real grief Black people experience with the constant reminders that the systems around them oppress them. It’s clear that the person or people McCullough spoke about did not take that into consideration, and it’s beyond unfortunate. McCullough makes the point in the interview that an environment like this, which clearly was not particularly supportive, was one she had to leave.

This is just a longer way of saying that you should give McCullough’s interview a read when you get a chance and understand her story, because it was clear some people around her did not. That lack of understanding was a disservice to her, and so many others.

Links of the Day

A Spanish investor agreed to buy Wigan out of administration.

Transfer updates: Aston Villa signed Ross Barkley on loan from Chelsea; Fulham signed Ademola Lookman on loan from RB Leipzig

A longer read: Tariq Panja on a decision FIFA is taking to require clubs to release players for South American World Cup qualifiers despite clubs’ concerns over rising COVID-19 cases for The New York Times