Irish Examiner view: Unspoken pitfalls involved in building ‘an Irish NHS’
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'HSE chief executive Bernard Gloster... might do himself a favour in explaining what those jobs are, and why they are necessary.' File picture: HSE
It was inevitable that someone would blunder into the debate about the rapid increase in female pundits commentating on live sport, and that it would be sooner rather than later. This time it is the old pro and former England manager Kevin Keegan who is on the naughty step.
Keegan, 72, told an audience at one of his peripatetic live shows that he had a “problem” with “an England lady footballer” giving their opinions on men’s football. With a nod to understatement, he acknowledged that “it may not be a view shared” but that he didn’t like “ladies talking about the England men’s team at the match because I don’t think it’s the same experience”.
He now stands accused of being “a dinosaur” for “archaic, nonsensical, and uneducated” comments, with the charity Women in Football accusing him of “gender apartheid” and linking his attitude to the case of Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish football federation who resigned his post after kissing Jennifer Hermoso during Women’s World Cup final celebrations.
Keegan probably regrets his off-the-cuff remarks. But the episode illustrates, once again, the dangers of speaking without thinking in a world of instant reaction.