After the anger that Sky prompted by stating that Richard Keys and Andy Gray had said sorry (but to who initially? Sky executives? Sian Massey and Karren Brady were most silent on whether or not they had received an apology - although fighting for his job Keys did beg for forgiveness from Massey over the phone last night), finally they have been forced to suspend them. Not fire them. Just suspend them. If the lineswoman had been black or from another ethnic minority, they would have been out the door before their feet touched the ground, but sexism is seen as not so important. Sky still implicitly is not concerned by it.
The conversation between Keys and Gray may have taken place before the match, but it cannot be seen as mere banter because they were witheringly dismissive of Massey before she had even had a chance to prove herself, followed it up by saying all female officials were useless and, most tellingly, angrily denounced Brady’s newspaper stance, even though they had just confirmed the sexism Brady was railing against. Their words dripped prejudice.
Keys has form. In another unguarded moment before a microphone, he was demeaning and foul-mouthed towards the Faroe Islands. Once can be seen as accidental, twice looks like incompetence. Yet he was let off with a slap on the wrist. If he had been given a final warning that time, he might have kept his repugnant views to himself thereafter, in case he fell foul of technology again. Keys and Gray really look like that they have just come out of that comic sketch “Women know your limits” – but this comes straight from reality, when dozy oafs still believe it, rather than laugh at how outdated and contemptible it is.