Chelsea bidder Todd Ricketts has become the latest member of the Ricketts family to be embroiled in a racism storm, after comments he allegedly made about Covid and American 'concentration camps' resurfaced.
The Ricketts family publicly declared their interest in submitting an offer to buy control of Chelsea from exiled owner Roman Abramovich before last week’s deadline. The Russian billionaire, who put the west London club up for sale earlier this month, remains under sanctions imposed by the UK government.
It is understood there are six interested parties who have submitted an offer which is under consideration by Raine, the U.S financial firm handling the sale of Chelsea. And the Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs baseball team in the United States, are included in that group.
However, their attempts to buy Chelsea have been met with strong restraint from the supporters after it emerged the family’s patriarch, Joe Ricketts, was forced to apologise after making anti-Muslim comments back in 2019. It was claimed that his children — Todd, Tom and Laura — had distanced themselves from their father’s offensive words.
But comments attributed to Todd will no doubt invite further scrutiny. A New Yorker magazine article on the 52-year-old, who is a Republican and director on the Chicago Cubs board, reported that he had used his Facebook page to refer to Covid as "the kung flu”.
Furthermore, in a video where New York Mayor Bill de Blasio urged residents to call the city if they witnessed large gatherings of people during the coronavirus pandemic, Ricketts responded: “All snitches will be given priority when applying for jobs as security guards at the concentration camps that will be opening later this year.”
The Ricketts family’s bid was seen as a strong contender due to their plans for the club. Not only do they possess the wealth and will to revamp Stamford Bridge as a key part of their proposal, they can use their £800m regeneration of the Cubs’ home, Wrigley Field, as proof of their intentions.
But such comments — just days after they released a statement with a strong condemnation of racism and commitment to diversity — could do fatal damage to the family’s hopes of buying the west London club. The statement read: ”Our family rejects any form of hate in the strongest possible terms.
"Racism and Islamophobia have no place whatsoever in our society. We have developed deep and abiding partnerships with the Muslim community in Chicago, as well as with all communities of colour.
“Respect for diversity and inclusion are central to our family's values. If we prevail in our bid for Chelsea, we commit to the club and to the fans that we will actively promote these values.”
The hashtag ‘NoToRicketts’ was the top trending topic in the UK on Twitter on Tuesday, with thousands of Chelsea supporters voicing their opposition on social media. Former Blues player Paul Canoville, the club’s first black player, urged the club to reject their advances.
US tycoon Todd Boelhy, who has teamed up to form a consortium with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and British entrepreneur Jonathan Goldstein, has emerged as a new favourite - with a decision likely to be reached in the coming weeks.
The Ricketts family declined to comment.
