By Rob Harris
London: The jury who will decide the fate of Australian soccer star Samantha Kerr has been told the law must not discriminate between racial slurs, and asked to ponder what if she had called a police officer “stupid and black” in a drunken late-night incident two years ago.
Prosecutors put forward their closing argument on the fifth day of the trial at Kingston Crown Court, where the Matildas captain is charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to British police officer Constable Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
Both Kerr, 31, and her partner, fellow professional athlete Kristie Mewis, claimed a taxi driver tried to kidnap them and hold them “hostage” when he drove to Twickenham police station complaining they had refused to pay clean-up costs after Kerr was sick and Mewis kicked out the vehicle’s rear window.
At the police station, Kerr – one of soccer’s biggest and most recognisable stars – is alleged to have become “abusive and insulting” towards Lovell, calling him “f---ing stupid and white” in a heated altercation.
Kristie Mewis, the partner of Sam Kerr.Credit: AP
Kerr accepts making the comments but has pleaded not guilty to one count of racially aggravated harassment. She told the court she was making a comment about power and privilege.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones, KC, said calling a white man “white” was “plainly not as loaded” as calling a black man “black”.
“You can’t just turn it around, it is not as easy as that,” he told the jury. “But the fact remains that in the heat of moment, it was an insult delivered in reference to race and that is what the law prohibits.
“The test for you is the same, regardless of the ethnicity in question. She was insulting him and, at the time, she was hostile to him by reference to his race.”
Emlyn Jones said Kerr’s claims about what had happened in the taxi did not make “one blind bit of difference to what this case is about” and said she was “drunk and angry” and “lashing out in a rage” that night.
He told the court her usual good character and behaviour had “pretty much gone out of the window” when she demonstrated hostility to Lovell by reference to the fact that he happened to be white.
“It might make it surprising, it might make it sad, but it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” he said.
“The fact you will be able to think of much worse examples of racial aggravation is irrelevant. Would we consider this a racially aggravated insult if she had said stupid and black? Of course, you would, it wouldn’t even be contestable.”
Lovell provided evidence earlier in the trial that he had felt “shocked”, “upset” and “humiliated” during the encounter.
Earlier in the day, the court heard character references from Kerr’s Chelsea teammates and former head coach Emma Hayes, as well as her mother, Roxanne Kerr.
Carly Telford, a goalkeeper who played for Chelsea from 2017 to 2022, described Kerr as a “close friend” and an “introverted extrovert”.
“On the pitch you see the skills, the backflips [but] away from pitch, she’s quite quiet and shy. Quite reserved,” she said.
Telford said Kerr was “generous” with money and said she often considered how she could cover costs for the younger players on nights out “to make sure they can celebrate with us”.
Grace Forbes, defending Kerr, read out several statements from Hayes, Chelsea captain Millie Bright and midfielder Erin Cuthbert.
Hayes, who is the former Chelsea manager and current head coach of the US football team, said Kerr was an “exemplary role model” and described her as “one of the warmest, friendliest, kindest and most considerate players”.
Kerr is the all-time leading Australian international scorer, with 69 international goals. The Chelsea striker has been instrumental in the club’s success since joining in 2019, winning the Women’s Super League five times and the Women’s FA Cup three times.
“She is calm and level-headed and mindful. She comes from a wonderful family. She has the biggest heart. She is a big kid at heart. I think she does well to manage everything that is thrown at her and the expectation that is placed on her,” Hayes said.
Roxanne Kerr called her daughter “the most humble, honest and loving person I know” who “will always fight for what is right”.
“I’m so proud of the woman she has become,” she added.
The defence will give its closing argument on Monday.
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