Nigerian prodigy retired veteran, Eniola Aluko has accepted Nikita Parris’ apology for showing support to former England manager, Mark Sampson following her allegations of ‘bullying and discrimination’ against Sampson in 2017, as Parris ran over to hug the then-England manager after scoring a month later.
The Lyon forward wrote an open letter apologising for her actions in the game as she took to Twitter to apologise to the former Lionesses player after leading her team-mates to celebrate with Sampson following her opening goal against Russia in 2017.
Sampson was initially cleared following an investigation but a later apologised after an inquiry ruled he had made racially discriminatory comments. The Football Association also apologised.
Following the death of George Floyd and the wave of Black Lives Matter protests taking place across the world, Parris felt compelled to write Aluko an open letter apologising for her actions and the former Chelsea forward has now confirmed she has accepted the 26-year-old’s apology.
Responding to Parris’ letter, Aluko wrote on Twitter: ‘After a very difficult moment three years ago, I moved on and appreciate the self-reflection for Nikita to move on too. Most importantly, black women should always strive for unity, not division.’
The Lyon forward had expressed her regret at making Aluko feel ‘alone and segregated’. She wrote: ”A few years ago in what was meant to be an example of solidarity I caused a division and didn’t consider objectively how my actions could have affected others.”
”During a very sensitive time where it would have mattered most, my actions left specific fellow professionals feeling alone and segregated. At the time I focused more on what I believed was showing unity when really it did nothing of the sort, it showed a lack of empathy, understanding and ignorance by singling out a voice who needed an ear to listen and a support system to help.”
”Eni, I am sorry that my thoughtless actions caused you to hurt, never is it in my conscious intentions to make another human feel devalued. I am a proud black woman, I understand I have a social responsibility to help create change through my platform,” the letter read.
