27 Feb That Offensive Offside Rule
What would you do if your favourite radio station hired a talk show host known to beat up his girlfriends? What if it also hired sport commentators who think very little of women? Would you still tune in, or would you call the station managers and give them a piece of your mind?
Last month, the well known Sky Sports commentator and former Everton and Aston Villa player, Andy Gray (55), was fired from his seven figure job after passing sexist comments against a female assistant referee.
Gray and his colleague Richard Keys (53), were getting ready to comment on a Premier League match between Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers, when they realised that the assistant referee was a woman – Sian Massey (25). At the sight of her, Gray ‘half jokingly’ told Keys, that women ‘do not understand the offside rule’ and that Kenny Danglish (Liverpool’s Manager) was going to go ‘potty’. Thinking that their microphones were off, they went on to imply that having female referees is downright crazy. Soon enough they found out that their conversation had been recorded and that their silly banter had been leaked to the press. The sexist storm that they found themselves in led Keys to resign and Gray got fired.
Opinions about the matter abound. Some think that Gray deserved to be fired, whilst others feel that it was an overreaction, others, including some women, feel that the world should just lighten up and get back its sense of humour.
Gillian Grech, a fully qualified fitness instructor who has been working in the world of sport for the past 15 years, thinks that whilst it was unfortunate for Andy Gray to have been caught passing sexist comments on more than one occasion, it is also unfortunate that he chose to wait until he was fired to offer Sian Massey a formal apology. “Perhaps had he even pretended to show remorse for what many considered offensive, he would not have found himself out of a job” says Gillian. “Being so influential, his behaviour is unacceptable, and I wholeheartedly agree with Sky’s decision not to ignore it.”
Catherine Micallef, one of the very few female sport commentators on the island said that she wouldn’t like to be a referee and have a professional technical commentator pass sexist comments about her. However she is in agreement with husband Sandro Micallef, also a sports commentator, that though offensive, Gray’s comments were not that grave, and that a cut in his salary would have been enough to make him regret the matter. “Gray’s comments were irresponsible,” adds Catherine, “times have changed and women are involved in many activities that in the past were solely associated with men. Nevertheless I would advise women to take similar sexist comments with a pinch of salt, because ultimately, if a woman is doing a good job, then she should just ignore such instances and pursue her career.”
According to Sandro Micallef, the fact that Gray and Keys thought that they were off air, is irrelevant. “Once you’re wearing a microphone you are prone to going live at any time. You are in the hands of your technical team and you should behave accordingly, irrespective of the scheduled broadcast time.”
“Referees make many sacrifices to reach professional levels,” adds Sandro, “and do not merit such attitude from commentators. One must weigh things well before passing any personal comments and judgements, let alone a sexist ones like this. It is all about ethics.”
Esther Azzopardi (29) is Malta’s only female International Referee to make it onto the FIFA List. After many years of training, she was promoted to the UEFA Premier Category, and last year refereed the Under 19 semi final between Germany and France in Macedonia.
“Refereeing is already a very difficult job in itself,” says Esther, “let alone having to do it as a woman in a man’s world. In the beginning of my career it was even more difficult because I was young, and the young men whose games I used to referee didn’t easily accept being refereed by a woman. Today things have changed, but sometimes comments from the supporters remind me of how closed minded some people can be. For some unfair reason, even though everyone, including players, coaches, managers, media personnel and commentators, make mistakes, it seems that it’s always the referee that gets the short end of the stick, and it’s only women who get judged by their gender.”
“With regards to Andy Gray, I believe that everyone should pay the consequences of their actions, but I do not feel that I am in a position to judge him. It is sad that a commentator of his level passes such derogatory comments because people like him are very influential and could make life more difficult for women in sports. In almost every single match that I referee, supporters pass derogatory comments towards me. During a particularly hot match, supporters started shouting and repeating the word ‘lesbian’. I’m happily married and certainly not a lesbian, and I don’t see why such a word was used in an attempt to offend me.”
Sandro Micallef had publically condemned this incident against Esther Azzopardi, but did not find much support for his efforts. “I heard them shout out the word ‘lesbian’ repeatedly, and I thought it was so discriminatory simply because Esther is a woman. I condemned it live on my TVM programme Kontrattakk but unfortunately, instead of being supported for my courage to stand up against this shame, I got scolded for saying ‘that word’ on TV.”
According to Gillian Grech the situation might be improving slowly, but we’re still not there yet. “Many gym goers are male,” says Gillian “and in order to attract them to group training, it was necessary to introduce classes like indoor cycling, circuit training and Thai Bo, but some men still feel uncomfortable with having a female instructor, and would rather not join! In some spheres, women still struggle to be given the same opportunities and recognition as men in spite of the fact that they prove to be equally capable. Sport has long been defined as a man’s activity traditionally excluding or discouraging half the world’s population from participation. I find this attitude unacceptable.”
Clearly, what is offensive to one person is just banter to another, so where does one draw the line with sexist jokes and comments? During a discussion programme on BBC, West Ham United’s vice-chairman, Karren Brady came out loud and clear against Gray – “It makes my blood boil,” she said. “What really upsets me is the fact that only females …are judged by their gender. And that is categorically wrong.” On the other hand, Katie Hopkins another guest on the same program who is mostly known for her opinionated appearance on The Apprentice, said that “Sky Sports has completely lost its sense of humour,” and that “…women don’t want equal treatment…but…. special treatment.” Ex MP Edwina Currie reacted heatedly to these comments and, pretending to faint with disbelief.
Gillian Grech pointed out, that making discriminatory or derogatory remarks about someone based on their gender is as unacceptable as when they are made about a person’s weight, religion, or skin colour. “It is always wrong,” she says. “It is just another form of bullying, so when women are told to laugh off an incident like this, it’s like saying that if your child is bullied at school for being overweight, just laugh it off and carry on!”
Peter Hitchens a columnist on the Mail Online and an award-winning British author known for his traditionalist view, thinks that it was completely wrong to sack Gray and Keys, because the things they said were not intended for broadcast. “If they didn’t intend their remarks to be broadcast, they shouldn’t be judged professionally as if they had intended it,” he wrote.
Less than a fortnight after losing their jobs with Sky Sport, Gray and Keys have been scooped up and hired by a nationwide UK Sports Radio station which targets ‘men who love to talk sport’. Today the controversial duo host a three hour daily programme on talkSport – a radio station which also employs ex-Nottingham Forest star Stan Collymore, who has admitted beating former girlfriend Ulrika Jonsson, and has been accused of assaulting another ex-partner of his.
So as Andy Gray and Richard Keys scored an auto goal with their silly comments and open mics, talkSport positioned itself right in the middle of the goal post, ready to scoop up all the sexist bandits and make the best of what’s left of chauvinist male audiences.
First published on First Magazine – February 2011
