Middlesbrough fans displayed a banner in support of former player Chris Kamara during their 0-0 draw with Rotherham United, after the 64-year-old revealed he feels like a 'fraud' due to his battle with speech apraxia. The banner read: 'You’re not a fraud. You’re unbelieveable Kammy.'
Kamara, who was born in Middlesbrough and had a loan spell at the club in 1993, later became a popular pundit on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday. He appeared on Steven Bartlett's 'Diary of a CEO' podcast earlier this week to discuss his condition, which causes him to slur words and struggle to speak in the intended order.
Speech apraxia is a neurological disorder where the brain knows what it wants to say but the pathways to articulate it are blocked. Kamara described feeling like 'someone is taking over my voice box' and said he no longer brings the same energy to broadcasting, adding: 'I feel a fraud now in terms of broadcasting – I don’t bring to the table what I used to.'
Kamara responded to the fans' gesture on Twitter, writing: 'Wow that is “unbelievable Jeff” Thank You' with clapping emojis. The phrase 'unbelievable Jeff' became a popular meme during his 24-year partnership with host Jeff Stelling.
