Shot in February 2013, the video sparked one of the nation’s biggest political scandals. Rob Ford consistently denied the existence of the video.
Much of Ford’s statements in the video are inaudible, but Elena Basso can be heard in the video complaining about Justin Trudeau. He does not appear to make the comments that those who saw it previously had reported, including referring to students and saying, “they are just f**king minorities.”
“After Basso says, ‘That’s what drives you,’ Ford responds, ‘F**k, just drivin’ the minorities, dude.’ The word after ‘f**k’ is unclear, but his remark is clearly different than previously reported, proving that he did patronizingly refer to the players he coached as ‘minorities,’ but he didn’t dismiss them as, ‘just f**king minorities.’ This is much more consistent with Ford’s brand of racism, which typically manifested as condescension, rather than contempt,” as noted by Now Toronto.
After the discovery, Toronto’s then-Police Chief Bill Blair stated that he was “very disappointed,” but no charges were filed against Ford.
Ford eventually admitted to substance abuse and entered a rehabilitation facility.
Following his treatment, he returned to the mayoral race for reelection. In September 2014, Ford withdrew from the race after being diagnosed with cancer, and died in March of this year.
