General Twitter Thread

[ChesterDave]

It is not about supporting gay players at all, its about getting publicity for Paddy ****ing Power and getting people to keep gambling.

It can't be their best move then. I hadnt heard they were involved till you said. All I have seen is that gay rights group Stonewall have sent them to the 92 clubs

[Kenneth]

Did you miss the words paddy power and the possibly questionable 'right behind gay footballers' tag line on the poster above?

[The_weatherman]

Did you miss the words paddy power and the possibly questionable 'right behind gay footballers' tag line on the poster above?

[Neil Young]

why??

****ing ridiculous idea, ****ing rainbow laces to support gay players. Why not black laces to support black players or white for the white players or transparent laces for the straight players.

I imagine it's because racism in football has been addressed - with some success - via other means and because white players don't get abused because they're white.

It's not difficult to work out why supporting gay players might be a good thing but I suppose it does rely on being openminded.

[Neil Young]

It is not about supporting gay players at all, its about getting publicity for Paddy ****ing Power and getting people to keep gambling.

Surely it's about both.

No-one has found Paddy Power's past marketing more distasteful than I have and I've said plenty of times I'm not very comfortable with gambling at all (although plenty are so I try to approach the whole area with the philosophy of live-and-let-live). But I think supporting gay players is a good thing.

In this society companies are encouraged to behave in a solely self-interested way. If it suits their interest to support a worthwhile cause then, sadly, that's as good as we can hope for from them. In this case it's better done than not done so ultimately society in general and a particular disadvantaged group in particular should benefit (to a small extent) from this particular act of self-interest.

[smither]

Paddy Power have certainly got some creative gimmicks too.

[dom9]

Surely it's about both.

No-one has found Paddy Power's past marketing more distasteful than I have and I've said plenty of times I'm not very comfortable with gambling at all (although plenty are so I try to approach the whole area with the philosophy of live-and-let-live). But I think supporting gay players is a good thing.

In this society companies are encouraged to behave in a solely self-interested way. If it suits their interest to support a worthwhile cause then, sadly, that's as good as we can hope for from them. In this case it's better done than not done so ultimately society in general and a particular disadvantaged group in particular should benefit (to a small extent) from this particular act of self-interest.

After some of their campaigns recently, most of which target and ridicule certain people, it makes a change for them to be using their presence to actually promote something positive.

It may be cynical, but is it wrong? I don't think so. And they are supporting a charity in Stonewall too.

[Tee]

Their motive is wrong. IMO

[Neil Young]

I agree there's probably something in that but (a) do you know for sure and (b) how important is that?

The thing is, Paddy Power the company doesn't have a motive because, contrary to how we often think about it and contrary to the fanciful notions of the business lobby, it's not a sentient being. It hasn't decided to do anything for any reason. What's really happened is that certain sentient beings (probably humans, possibly dogs) within the company have made the decision to do this. Partly this will be because there is a benefit to them in terms of increased usage and profitability and/or improved brand perceptions and/or whatever. So that's the self-interest. But that might have been how it got sold to certain decision-makers within the company. Some or all of the decision-makers might actually want to promote tolerance. Personally I suspect both have elements of truth.

But motives aren't all that important. So someone does something right for less than perfect reasons, which presumably you'd define as pure altruism. Ok, maybe, maybe not. But better the right thing is done, whatever the reason, than it's not done at all. Surely?

[smither]

I don't think Paddy Power's strategies are particularly sustainable but it works for raising publicity for them in the very short term.

They do something like this almost every week, if it can be a vehicle to promote social change then it should be applauded.

If they were opening a betting market on how many players use the laces then i'd have an issue with it, I don't see how they can be chastised for raising awareness.

[Bender]

Football__Tweet @Football__Tweet 5m
Carlos Tévez on Fernando Llorente: "Perhaps you're useful for basketball, but in football I've never had a worse striker partner." #Juve

[Lee]

Football__Tweet @Football__Tweet 5m
Carlos Tévez on Fernando Llorente: "Perhaps you're useful for basketball, but in football I've never had a worse striker partner." #Juve

[Shaggy]

Fabrizio Romano @FabRomano21
No Stramaccioni, no Zola: new Sunderland manager will be Gus #Poyet #SAFC

[PTP]

would just be typical - club in disarray - sack their manager, then will make a good appointment right before they play us giving the fans and players an extra boost and some no mark cunt will score his first goal in 3 years, an overhead kick from 30 yards out, to win 1-0 - after we've had penalties turned down and smashed the bar and post 40 times

[Resu]

would just be typical - club in disarray - sack their manager, then will make a good appointment right before they play us giving the fans and players an extra boost and some no mark cunt will score his first goal in 3 years, an overhead kick from 30 yards out, to win 1-0 - after we've had penalties turned down and smashed the bar and post 40 times

You forgot the goalie having the game of his life.