Carl Frampton has done more than most sportspeople to bring a level of unity to Belfast and Northern Ireland. Frampton was raised in the fiercely loyalist area of Tiger's Bay, but has never given much thought to religious differences. He says he was raised in a family which didn't care for such division, and Frampton hasn't been bothered by differences throughout his career: his wife is Catholic, as is his manager Barry McGuigan.
The influence his career has had over part of Northern Ireland is neatly captured in this tweet by UTV's Ruth Gorman:
Spoke to these fans at the public workout, this is what @RealCFrampton does for our country👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/sWRukMbsZ1
— Ruth Gorman (@RuthGorman_UTV) January 26, 2017
Sadly, not everyone is supportive of such unity.
Yesterday, Frampton was pictured wearing an Antrim GAA jersey, to which a loyalist replied that he would no longer support Frampton as a result.
Great to see you in Saffron @RealCFrampton 👌 pic.twitter.com/flrecNGoBe
— Antrim GAA (@AontroimGAA) April 5, 2017
Frampton responded directly:
Hey boy, anymore talk like that and you'll get this around the coupon pic.twitter.com/5pQ1iCF0pJ
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) April 6, 2017
And today, Frampton's wife Christine has responded as well, with this fantastic tweet:
Superb.
As an aside, a perusal of the twitter account of the guy who first tweeted his disgust at Frampton is, er, interesting...
