“Bead-rattlers” force an apology

The Scottish Sunday Herald was forced to publish a full-page apology when a sports columnist used the phrase “bead-rattling” in reference to a particularly devout kind of Celtic FC supporter.

The article was about the negative attitude of some fans towards current manager Gordon Strachan. The offending passage:

some fans would probably rather have a bead-rattling Hoopy the Huddle Hound in the dug-out.

(Hoopy the Huddle Hound is Celtic’s mascot)

In response to complaints the Sunday Herald sports editor Stephen Penman wrote:

The use of the term ‘bead-rattling’ is clearly unacceptable in a quality newspaper. Indeed, it is clearly unacceptable in any context and in any walk of life.

Sectarianism is indeed still a problem in some parts of the UK, and we here at MWW are totally against discrimination on such grounds. A zombie worshipper is a zombie worshipper, be they papist or prod.


One Response to ““Bead-rattlers” force an apology”

  1. Andy Gilmour says:

    Just to provide a little “local” background for those poor, benighted, non-Scots amongst you [ 🙂 ]…

    The “Sunday Herald”, despite its pretensions to ‘quality’ and ‘national’ status, is very much a Weegie paper. Being thus mired in the motherland of Scottish sectarianism, they really should have known better – no matter how irreverently accurate (and quite amusing, I thought) the original comment was.

    No one should ever dare mock the supporters of the ‘Old Firm’ for their ridiculous supernatural devotions, or indeed for the comparative thinness of their epidermises.

    That having been said, I’m quite impressed that some of them understood enough of the polysyllabic words the Herald uses…this shows that all may not entirely be lost in the giant midden-by-the-Clyde…?

    :-))