December 13th 2023.
Lauren James was involved in an incident during Chelsea's defeat to Arsenal on Sunday which resulted in a lot of abuse. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has come out and expressed her concern for the 22-year old, claiming that she has been the subject of 'racial profiling'.
The incident occurred when James stamped on Arsenal midfielder Lia Walti, yet she was lucky to avoid a red card. Earlier this week, Chelsea released a statement condemning the racial abuse James had been subjected to.
Hayes spoke to the press on Wednesday and revealed the mental state of the young talent. She said: "I think it's disgusting, the amount of abuse she has received from the public, from the media, from the press. We're talking about a young player who, no question, is always working to learn in the background but some of the language I have seen used to vilify her externally I think is unacceptable."
The manager went on to add that she believes James is being unfairly targeted. She said: "I don't see the same level of abuse attributed to other players in the league who might have had their own challenging moments. I think it's fair to say, if I were in her position, I would think there is racial profiling going on."
Hayes went on to express her concern for James' mental health. She said: "She's not in a great place, if I'm honest. When it starts from broadcasting and the way they speak about things that maybe they need to reflect on, labelling players, she's a young player, she made an error in the summer, of course she has to keep learning those things, but they aren't done in single segments, it's always ongoing work."
The manager went on to draw a comparison between James and David Beckham. She said: "When I say she's a young player, there's nothing consistent in some of those things that happen, both in terms of performance and outcomes, my job as a coach is to keep teaching her, to find those levels of consistency and keep challenging here on the important things. Of course, every opponent tries everything possible to get Lauren red-carded. That's been clear in every game we've played and she has to learn to handle that, she has to learn to do that. It reminds me very much of David Beckham in many ways when he got red-carded in the World Cup."
Finally, Hayes concluded by expressing her disgust at the racial abuse James has been subjected to. She said: "I think the treatment of Lauren is sometimes very similar and I think we have to realise for a young person, in a day and age when social media is unbelievably vitriolic, some of the nasty language and labelling and name-calling I think goes over the edge. And then you add racism to that for her, you can understand why her mental health is not in the very best place this week."
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