Gattuso blames “keyboard hatred” for not getting Tottenham job

Remember a little while ago — it was either two weeks or about six years, time is a flat circle — when Gennaro Gattuso was this ( >< ) close to getting the Tottenham Hotspur managerial position, only for Daniel Levy to pull the plug on it after a fan revolt on social media over Gattuso’s past comments on racism, women in football, and homophobia?

Yeah, that was awesome. Well, ol’ Rino’s not too happy about how everything went down, but instead of being thoughtful and considerate about how his past comments and actions might have had an impact on getting a job in English football, he doubled down and went straight to blaming CANCEL CULTURE for having his comments “misrepresented.”

The full comments are behind a paywall in La Repubblica, but Gianluca DiMarzio has the quotes.

“I find it hard to think that this was the reason for my failure to move to Tottenham. At the limit, their fans may have been left with the image of my fight with [Joe] Jordan in 2011, who was their assistant manager at the time.

“Me racist, sexist and homophobic? That’s not true, ask my former teammates. Only some of my statements have been misrepresented.

“My story teaches that keyboard hatred is something dangerous and underestimated. I am a public figure and I have the strength to react, but there are many other people who may not succeed and maybe throw themselves out of the window out of weakness.”

Wow. WOW. I mean, it’s pretty easy to say “I told you so” referring to this guy, but his response is precisely why I, and many many other Tottenham fans, were so viscerally opposed to his appointment at the time when it looked like it was going to happen. I said before that I’m willing to forgive past comments if they show evidence that they’re willing to grapple with them and take active steps to make amends. Not only do these latest quotes not do that, it reinforces that Gattuso is every bit the person that we all thought he was.

And then. And then! He goes on to suggest that people who commit suicide do so out of weakness, hinting that he’s able to get through this situation because he’s a manly man who’s strong, unlike others who fail and “maybe throw themselves out of the window out of weakness.” It’s incredible, really.

Gattuso went on to claim he has never been in the pocket of agent Jorge Mendes (lolllll), something that seems farcical on its face considering it was Fiorentina refusing to go in for two Mendes-represented and overly expensive players that resulted in him walking away after 23 days.

I’ve wasted enough words on this guy. He’s not worth mine, nor anyone else’s, time. These comments simply confirm that those of us who came together to spread the #NoToGattuso hashtag, who wrote emails to Daniel Levy in opposition, and who expressed their indignation at the idea of hiring this guy were not only correct to do so, but are now fully justified in their actions.

I could go on to include a few choice expletives, but I won’t because this is a family blog (it isn’t really, but that’s the lie I like to say to myself). Let’s just say I hope he ends up managing Lazio and leads them to relegation. Or falls into a hole. Either works.

We know who you are
We know who you aaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaare
Gennaro Gattuso
We know who you aaaaaaaaaaaaare