Monkey Say, Monkey Sacked

Andy Gray is a 55 year old working class bloke, albeit a very well heeled one, who made a few run-of-the-mill unfunny and old as the hills sexist comments typical of a man of his age group and background about the fairer sex that for him were unfortunately recorded and put in the public domain. The fact that Gray holds these attitudes is about as surprising as learning that The Pope is a Catholic, that bears do indeed shit in the woods, or that Marcel Proust has never been on Wayne Rooney's reading list. You may contend that Gray is a dinosaur or an oaf, and what he and his increasingly beleaguered colleague Richard Keys have been recorded saying is certainly crass, insensitive, etc etc, but did he really deserve to get sacked? Jeez, if every man who ever made a sexist comment at work were fired, the remaining workforce would be 100% female. Show me a man who has never made a sexist comment and I'll show you a mute, who has most likely said "Look at the norks on that" or similar in sign language. Hmmm....I wonder what the signing is for "norks"?

Equally, after all equality is what it all boils down to, in a workplace dominated by women (social care, or nursing for example) I'm sure you will find sexism directed at the male minority workforce, and no-one complains. Sexism is I'm afraid, part of (mostly male) human nature and will never be curtailed by crazy politically correct actions such as Gray's sacking. Of all the "isms" sexism is the least to worry about. Racism, homophobia, ageism are all more important. Sure, sack someone for sexual harassment, which should never be tolerated, but sexism? No, a stiff telling off will do surely?

Gray's hitherto annoyingly smug colleague Richard Keys has so far only been temporarily suspended, but isn't it time to move him on anyway? This man has less charisma and more hair than a chimney sweep's brush.



Richard Keys rues his recent behaviour...


It's amazing he's still in his job after all these years. As for Gray, as a pundit he was just average, not great (Hansen) or rubbish (Lawrenson), merely average. One assumes he has arranged his alleged £1.7M contract in a similar way to the football people he passed comment on, which entails Sky paying him off in the event of him being sacked, rather than handing him a P45 and telling him to clear his desk pronto, as would happen to you or I. There is no justice.

So although I don't agree with the manner of his departure, Sky's football coverage may well now get the injection of youth that it sorely needs.
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If the GDP figures for the three months to 31st March 2011 show a decline then we are officially in a double dip recession, following the shock horror surprise that for the three months ended December 31st the economy shrank by 0.5%. Out here in the real world that was no surprise at all as anyone with any contact with small businesses will tell you.

Unlike the first recession this one is solely the fault of Lord Snooty and his Eton chums as folk are scared to spend money in the likelihood they are about to be made redundant sometime this year following the impact of the savage and unnecessary cuts in, well just about everything.

We are all going to die...
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Just caught five minutes of The National Television Awards on ITV. The part I watched had the following nominations for the Comedy Award: Outnumbered, Michael McIntyre, Benidorm & Harry Hill's TV Burp. J Harry Christ on a stick, what a load of shite. What about Roger & Val Just Got In, The Trip, Peep Show? Not a mention. The winner, voted for by "You, the general public" was godawful 70s throwback Benidorm. The "general public" should all be taken out and shot.
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Finally, something quite odd but strangely moving...