As you rightly say, the comment was indefensible (Atkinson himself freely admitted it), and attempts at deconstructing it along gangsta rap lines and thus defending it are ludicrous – but I find the knee-jerk "this proves he’s a racist and it completely invalidates anything he may have done for good race relations in the past, which he probably never did anyway as he’s a racist" reactions are often equally contemptible in their smug black-and-white [sic] certainty and absolute refusal to acknowledge any nuances – and in this particular case there are many.

Atkinson made an appalling error of judgement, and is rightly paying the price (and how!) – so is it too much to ask people to be slightly more sensitive and at least temper their criticism with slightly more tact? Ron Atkinson is poles apart from the likes of Kilroy and Littlejohn and deserves much more sympathy he’s been getting.