The exchange ended with me calling DeGagne a ‘farm boy’ – a reference made solely in relation to the genealogy of his name. Gagner is an old French word meaning ‘to till’ or ‘cultivate’, and therefore it’s very likely his ancestors were agricultural workers. I presumed DeGagne would know that, but I now accept that the nomenclature could be ‘regarded as derogative’, and after a period of intense pressure from some aggressively vocal farming lobbies, I reluctantly deleted the tweet.
