talkSPORT take former Blackpool FC star Trevor Sinclair off the air after Twitter outburst following Queen's death
Former Blackpool FC star and talkSPORT pundit Trevor Sinclair has been taken off the air after tweeting that ‘racism was allowed to thrive' during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
Sinclair, 49, has been suspended by talkSport after he claimed that "black and brown" people should not mourn the monarch’s death.
The outburst was posted on Twitter barely an hour after Her Majesty’s passing was announced by the Royal Family.
He wrote: “Racism was outlawed in England in the 60’s & its been allowed to thrive so why should black & brown mourn!! #queen”
His comments were met with widespread condemnation, with many pointing to his own conviction for racially abusing a police officer in 2018.
The former footballer, who lives on the Fylde Coast, spent the first four years of his playing career with the Seasiders and also had a spell as assistant manager of Lancaster City in the 2014/15 season.
Following the backlash, Sinclair’s twitter account @trevor8sinclair was deleted.
talkSPORT has sought to distance itself from Sinclair’s remarks and says he will not appear on air whilst an investigation takes place.
Posting on its twitter account, talkSPORT said: “We have been trying to make contact with Trevor Sinclair following opinions expressed on his Twitter account. talkSPORT does not support those views expressed and is investigating the matter.”
It later added: “Trevor Sinclair will not be on air while we carry out a thorough investigation into the circumstances and timing of his tweet.
“While we respect the right of Trevor Sinclair to express his opinion on his personal twitter account, talkSPORT does not endorse the tweet.”
He also faced criticism from fellow talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan, who often works on the same show with Sinclair.
“I’m really not sure that is an appropriate thought, let alone tweet,” he wrote.
“The country has lost a very significant person and respect and value should be the overriding sentiments not division!”
People also picked up on a previous tweet from 2020 in which Sinclair voiced sympathy for the Queen and praised Her Majesty for being 'genuine in humility' and 'still inspired'.
He wrote: “Our Queen looked so fragile when addressing the nation earlier but was so genuine with humility, her majesty still inspired #UnitedKingdom