The evidence is clear, Kurt Zouma kicked a cat for amusement in a video filmed by his brother while both were at the defender’s home. Zouma felt the heat on social media and has since seen his sponsorship deals terminated and his club West Ham United are in danger of losing a sponsor as a result.

Zouma, an ill-advised move by his team, was a starter for West Ham against Watford where the player felt the anger from both the home and away supporters. Now in a strange scene reporters asked Michail Antonio what type of punishment Zouma should receive for his actions to which the Jamaican gave the reporters and those present a thought-provoking answer related to racism in the game.

Michail Antonio asks reporters question on racism

During the Q&A, where the forward was in his car, a reporter asked the Jamaican international if Zouma deserved a harsher punishment to which Antonio responded, “I’ve got a question for you. So, do you think what he has done is worse than racism?”

“I’m not condoning a thing that he has done. I don’t agree with what he has done at all. But there’s people that have been convicted and caught for racism and they have played football afterwards. They got punished, they got an eight-game punishment or something like that. But people are now calling for people to be sacked, to lose their livelihood. I’ve just got to ask this question to everybody out there. Is what he’s done [Zouma] worse than what the people have done that are convicted for racism?”

In the following days since the video surfaced Zouma has lost his sponsors Adidas and Vitality, The RSPCA confirmed it has seized the player’s two cats, while they continue to conduct an investigation into the abuse of the animal. The player could face 4 years in a French prison, and more than 150,000 people have signed a petition calling for the player to be prosecuted.