Ian Wright was a victim of bullying at Crystal Palace.
The former striker recalled his time at his first professional club, Crystal Palace, during the late 1980s.
He revealed how, despite scoring 90 goals in 225 appearances for Palace, he was often the target of bullying from his teammates.
“The older players, they were very intimidating – it was a bully culture,” Wright said, as reported by the Daily Star.
“You have to get through that kind of dressing room banter, which is predominantly driven by bullying.
“It’s something that you have to stand up to. It’s always good to have people around you – your family, friends – that will help you stand up.”
There is a fine line between “banter” and abuse. The people who think it’s just banter often don’t realise when they’ve crossed the line.
What goes in dressing rooms at football clubs tend to stay in dressing rooms, so it’s refreshing to hear a former player open up about a contentious issue.
Wright seems to have encountered a lot of bullying during his life and his football career.
He also recalled a story from when he was in school, and how he stuck up for a friend despite making himself a target in the process.
“I spoke out because my mate Graham was getting bullied and people were taking his money,” he said.
“I remember telling the PE teacher. When people found out that I had done that, they all came towards me.
“I was getting ‘you’re a grass, you’re this, you’re that’ – but in the end I was quite pleased I’d done that.”
Wright left Palace in 1991 to join Arsenal, where he enjoyed the most success of his career.
Rather than let the bullying get him down, he went on and made something of himself by winning several trophies with Arsenal and becoming the club’s all-time leading goalscorer at the time.