?Chelsea Football Club have been thrust under a microscope ever since revelations regarding the racial abuse of former youth players surfaced earlier this year.
Two ex-coaches, Gwyn Williams and Graham Rix, have been accused of racially abusing black players back when they were powerful figures at the club.
The Blues have since promised to investigate the matter on their own after the police reported not having found enough evidence to take the aforementioned pair to task. And now, an eighth former player has come forward to discuss what he went through as a young prospect.
Damien Wynter, who spent two years as a Chelsea academy player in the 1990’s, is the first of the accusers to reveal his identity. And speaking exclusively to ?BBC Sport, he detailed his ordeal.
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In March 1999, Graham Rix was sentenced to 12 months in prison, of which he served six, for having underage sex with a 15-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty to the first and fourth count, that he indecently assaulted the 15-year-old on 8 January 1998 at a west London hotel.
— Truthseeker (@thewakeupcall09) May 17, 2018
“Then it got to the showers. Within the changing-room they used to talk about my penis. So again, my dad spoke to Gwyn. Nothing was done.
“They started talking about my penis and the size of black men’s dicks, so I never used to wash and I used to go home with my dad and I never told him why. He used to say ‘Why didn’t you shower?’ Because I wasn’t comfortable going in the showers.
“I remember how Gwyn made me feel and the worst thing is, I couldn’t say anything because there was nobody else to talk to – Gwyn was Chelsea football club.”
Wynter went on to state that the abuse eventually led to him quitting the club, and he refused to go back even after Gwyn phoned his father. He also revealed that other players refused to pass him the ball during training simply because he was black.
“I made a choice to leave, I wasn’t thrown out, and Gwyn phoned up my dad and asked him for me to come back and I said no,” he continued. “And my dad explained to him how he made me feel and what happened and what I was going through with the players.
“During training and games, they never used to pass the ball to me. Never. And this is something my mum recognised and brought back to me. And I just walked away because when you break someone’s spirit there isn’t much else you’ve got left.
@DTguardian A message for Danial Taylor.
My name’s Damien Wynter. I was a Chelsea player in the early 90’s. I was playing for middlesex county when I was spotted my Gwyn Williams and Bob Osborne and Ted Dale. I suffered too so I know these men are telling the truth— Nana Jeans Westindian (@njwestindian) May 9, 2018
“Would I have made it? Yeah, so all I want to say is, thanks Gwyn for fighting for me, mate.
“There’s no one who can tell you how good I wasn’t. Because I know in my heart of hearts I was the best. They knew the potential I had. And then you leave and what do you have?”
Despite having to give up what could have been a good playing career at Chelsea and suffering two years of discrimination, Wynter says he has no intention to bring his experiences before the courts and only wants to lend his voice.
“I’ll provide [testimony], but I just want it on record I don’t want anything from it,” he insisted.
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