Susanna Reid and Ranvir Singh were in tears as they discussed the racism directed at Marcus Rashford following England’s Euro 2020 final defeat.
The footballer was targeted with racist abuse after he missed a penalty during a shootout in the loss to Italy and a mural of him was defaced in Manchester.
During ITV’s Good Morning Britain, presenter Reid labelled a post on social media by Rashford, in which he said he will “never apologise” for who he is, “incredibly moving”.
'You're privileged if you don't have to think about it.'
After reading out a letter to Marcus Rashford from a young fan, @susannareid100 & @ranvir01 emotionally discuss the impact of racism.
Susanna says she hopes Marcus and his team mates realise how many people they inspire. pic.twitter.com/DT74NHXN07
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 13, 2021
Along with co-presenter Singh, she became tearful after reading out a letter sent to Rashford, who has campaigned to prevent child hunger, by a nine-year-old called Dexter in which he said he had been “inspired” by the footballer to help those less fortunate.
The letter said: “I hope you won’t be sad for too long because you are such a good person.
“Last year you inspired me to help people less fortunate. Then last night you inspired me again, to always be brave.
“I’m proud of you, you will always be a hero.”
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) July 12, 2021
Reid said she hopes Rashford “feels everything that’s coming through from this letter and all the messages of support”.
Singh said: “That’s England. Dexter’s England, right.”
She added: “The thing is, it goes to the heart of what we want for our children.
“My son, going to school, he has talked about racism that he’s faced. He’s going to be nine.
“But you think about it all the time and you are privileged if you don’t have to think about it and the only time you have to think about it is when one of your heroes is suffering.”
Reid said she hopes the team “realise how many people love them, are proud of them and how many people they have inspired”.
She added we “all have to talk to our children” about racism.
It’s not easy talking about this stuff. As @ranvir01 said, as she embraced her hurt; there isn’t the privilege of choice. Ranvir is one of the strongest people I know and we should not underestimate the strength it took to not fight back those tears.❤️
— Alex Beresford (@alexberesfordTV) July 13, 2021
Following the incident, Reid and Singh’s Good Morning Britain colleague Alex Beresford said it is “not easy talking about this stuff”.
In a tweet, he added: “As @ranvir01 said, as she embraced her hurt; there isn’t the privilege of choice.
“Ranvir is one of the strongest people I know and we should not underestimate the strength it took to not fight back those tears.”