I must have walked past CJ de Mooi on several occasions the day or so prior to the outrage and failed to register the slogan on the front of his shirt.
I saw it. Misunderstood what CJ was up to. A virtual shrug of the shoulders was the end of the matter for me but there were others who misunderstood and chose to make a judgment.
I went home early on Saturday morning and missed the prize giving. Various sources suggest there was a discussion prior to the prize giving which resulted in CJ standing down. Reports suggest CJ sponsored the tournament to the tune of a five figure sum in fees to the Grandmasters to play in the strongest British of recent times if not ever. Under such circumstances it might appear ungracious to prevent him presenting the prizes even if he did not wish to adopt the traditional role of middle class man wearing a suit. Is it reasonable to demand CJ should conform to our expectations or is that an intolerant attitude on our part?
An interesting question but not the root cause of the objection. The key problem was the slogan on the T-shirt which related to a Stonewall campaign against the bullying of gay youngsters in school. Despite this campaign having been dispatched to all secondary schools, and having received the support of people like the Mayor of London, some folks raised objections to the possibility of photographs of youngsters receiving prizes from a man wearing a T-shirt with a reference to sexuality on it.
CJ was elected to be the President of the ECF but many do not want him to be CJ but some figurehead conforming to our expectations of what that role ought to be. Square that circle if you can.
