Andy Murray delivers a rare double: defended and reviled over Scotland

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/sep/23/andy-murray-scotland-independence

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Andy Murray, caught again in a revolving door partly of his own construction – over Scottish independence this time – has at least managed a rare double; being simultaneously defended and reviled in the Daily Mail.

It is not a leap too far in the dark to speculate that neither Martin Samuel (pro) nor Jan Moir (vehemently anti and very cross) care passionately that exiled Murray urged his compatriots to bring the union crashing to its 307-year-old knees by voting Aye last week. The media (the Guardian, included) had, after all, been asking him to come clean since the day he won Wimbledon in 2013. We asked him again at the US Open earlier this month – and answer came there not much.

However, when he finally obliged, Moir and others employed by newspapers of a John Bull persuasion had to find some way to work themselves into a latte-sized froth, because that is what they are paid to do. So they settled on how he delivered his message, rather than the message itself. It was in tweet that Murray said, “Huge day for Scotland today! no campaign negativity last few days totally swayed my view on it. excited to see the outcome. lets do this!”

Exactly. Exclamation marks, no less! And probably conjured in the small hours after chat with his brother, Jamie, and fellow-Scot Colin Fleming, who joined in the fun with their own tweets of insurrection.

The backlash, though, came in the moment victory for those supporting the status quo was secured. The words “let” “it” and “lie” did not occur to those waiting for a Murray slip to show. Imagine the dudgeon had Scots voted to leave the union? Murray might have had to emigrate to ... Scotland.

And what if he had pulled for a No vote? You can be reasonably sure the English commentariat – or that wing of it under the spell of the establishment – would have bathed him in roses. Sad to report, then, that Murray has apologised: not for what he said it should be noted but, as the angry little Englanders will gleefully point out, the way he said it.

“I don’t regret giving an opinion,” he told the BBC in China, obviously not far enough away to prevent a ripple back home. “I think everyone should be allowed that. The way I did it, yeah, it wasn’t something I would do again. I think it was a very emotional day for a lot of Scottish people and the whole country and the whole of the UK, it was a big day. The way it was worded, the way I sent it, that’s not really in my character and I don’t normally do stuff like that.”

Well, it was in his 140 characters, actually, and that can be a dangerous place to be, as Gary Lineker also learnt to his cost when he let his fingers stray on to Twitter after his beloved Leicester City beat Manchester United at the weekend to share some well chosen expletives with his followers. Lineker fought his way out of that hole, taking on the journalist who rang the BBC to see just how upset they were. Murray decided not to fight.

When Murray also surrendered to the temptation of instant comment, his handiwork was there for all to see – which is what he intended, of course – but he did not stop to think that there are still enemies abroad hungry for a piece of him.

The jungle that is Twitter is the hunting ground of journalists everywhere. We trawl it for any nuance, the occasional revelation and just plain entertainment – as do millions of people around the world. It has inter-connectivity of which newspapers could once only dream.

Probably Murray did not appreciate the contribution of Harry S, however, who tweets as sportingharry and opined: “Wish u had been killed at Dunblane, you miserable anti-British hypocritical little git. Your life will be a misery from now on.” I’m no lawyer, but sinking that low surely constitutes some sort of crime – against the senses, at the very least.

As for Murray and future pronouncements on non-tennis matters, he will now return to blandness. He said last month that anything he said on Scottish independence would be a re-run of his, “Anyone but England” flippancy in 2006, which “caused me a headache ... and a lot of abuse”.

That is a shame. I’m not hanging on his every word about Islamic State (Isis), say, but sharing something of himself beyond tennis lends perspective to our view of him, rounds out the man as well as the athlete, gives us a hint of what he is really like.

It was once very much like that. Athletes could and did talk outside their appointed box. It is difficult to recall, however, much Daily Mail froth over another tennis player with heartfelt political views, Buster Mottram, who four years ago managed the not inconsiderable trick of being expelled from Ukip – after trying to do a deal with the British National Party.

It’s not actually the method, you see. It’s the message – and, often, the messenger.