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The Daily Mail’s Hypocrisy Over Richard Keys And Andy Gray’s Sexism

by | 11th, February 2011

RICHARD Keys and Andy Gray have left Sky Sports to take up jobs at TalkSport. The Daily Mail must be delighted that their sexism has seen them so demoted. After all its Matt Lawton wrote:

That was certainly a common gripe among the football-writing community, with Gray almost coming to blows with one much-respected reporter who once dared object to his arrogance…He has, of course, damaged the Sky brand with his deeply offensive remarks. As, of course, has his co-presenter Richard Keys. Two men who Dame Judi Dench, in her role as Ian Fleming’s ‘M’, might have called sexist, misogynist dinosaurs…

They got too comfortable, too big for their boots and, in the end, exposed themselves as the men who were out of touch. As Gray discovered yesterday, what goes around comes around.

All good stuff. and it might make interesting reading for the Mail’s Steve Curry who in 2007 reacted to the news that Jacqui Oatley had been  made a commentator on Match Of The Day, the BBC’s football highlights show, thus:

STEVE CURRY – Sportsmail football writer

I am from the old school when football press boxes and commentary positions were men-only locations and the thought of a female commenting on football was abhorrent.

The mould was broken by Julie Welch, who wrote match reports for The Observer, since when females on football in the written press have become greater in number. But voice commentary is very different.

It is an insult to the controlled commentaries of John Motson, Mike Ingham and Alan Green that their domain is threatened by a new arrival whose excited voice sounds like a fire siren.

Other views were voiced:

DAVE BASSETT – Ex-Premiership manager now at Sheffield United

I am totally against it and everybody I know in football is totally against it. The problem is that everybody is too scared to admit it. I knew this would happen eventually. The world of football is so politically correct these days.

I’m completely relaxed about women presenting football shows. Women like Clare Tomlinson are very good.

But commentating is different. You must have an understanding of the game and the tactics and I think in order to do that you need to have played the game.

Maybe the BBC are trying to be innovative and ground-breaking but I think it undermines the credibility of the programme and when she commentates at the weekend I will not be watching.

I never really agreed that we should have women officials and I don’t think we should have female commentators. And my wife agrees!

They’ll never work again (until they do…)

READ: Football: A History Of The Throw In



Posted: 11th, February 2011 | In: Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink