Politically Correct??
By now, no doubt we have all heard about Mike Newell's comments about lineswoman, Amy Rayner after Saturday's match:
"She shouldn't be here. I know that sounds sexist but I am sexist. This is not park football, so what are women doing here?"
Corinne asked me on Monday whether I was going to write an article about it on these pages, to which at first, I declined. I then asked if she would like to put something together to give a woman's point of view on the subject? Corinne has followed up with an excellent article and is a great signing for Lofty Heights:
Following Mike Newell’s post match remarks regarding women’s place within football, I feel I’d like to portray my thoughts on the matter – a female perspective. I guess many would be expecting this article to expound how outrageous and offensive his opinions are… However, I’m going to argue in favour of Mr Newell’s comments.
Historically football has been a ‘man’s game’! Why should this have to change because of our country’s obsession with political correctness? Obviously, I believe in equality (to most extents) but is there anything so wrong in men keeping football for themselves? We women have already established our ground within this sport with more female football fans, teams and leagues than ever before. I think it’s about time that society accepted men and women are different!! Evolution is to blame for this! We don’t need to do everything men do in order to prove ourselves – we have our own qualities.
Abusing the linesman, sorry referees assistant, has always been a part of the game. Are men allowed to abuse a female linesperson in the same way without being accused of being sexist?
There’s a rawness to football which is already being dampened by monetary focus, agents and increased rules and regulations. Can we please just leave things as they are?! Else where will this downward spiral end up – not being allowed to sing the ‘ West London is Wonderful’ song because it contains the words; tits and fanny!?!
Are the people who have been offended by Newell's comments really true football supporters?
©Corinne
posted by LOFTY @ 11/14/2006
5 Comments:
At 2:03 am,
Bob said…
Hi Corrine,
I’ve played football since I could walk and I still play whenever I can, so yeah, I consider myself a “true football supporter.” I guess I’ll disagree with your basic premise, that abusing the officials is “part of the game” and therefore acceptable. It isn’t. I coach and if any one of my players opens their mouths to an official then they will find themselves on the bench. It is not political correctness and money is not the only thing wrong with football. We’re trying to use rules and regulations to substitute for what we really lack: respect and sportsmanship.
Newell’s team is falling apart, they lost on an own goal, he is at war with the chairman, and the first thing out of his mouth was that women should not be allowed on the pitch. He started off by telling everyone that he didn’t care if they were offended or thought he was sexist. The tough guy then immediately mea culpa’d on Monday saying that he was sorry if anyone was offended. Is Newell really the “real man” that anyone should defend? A real man would accept responsibility for his team’s performance, not blame the first easy target in range.
Rayner was not out there because she can do “everything that men do.” She was out there because she paid her dues, worked her way up and met all of the qualifications for her job. I don't think I need to say that I'm PC because I think a manager should keep his mouth shut and show some respect to the game and the officials.
Cheers,
Bobo
At 1:33 pm,
LOFTY said…
Cheers for the comment Bobo
I must just say that it was never said that abusing officials is acceptable, just part of the game. Can you honestly say that you have NEVER done it?!? I mean, we have had some shockers down at LR the past few seasons! Also, when watching live games on TV, I don't have to be an expert lip reader to realise what some of the players are saying to the refs/assistants etc.
At the end of the day, everyone will have their own opinions about football, to which what makes it such a wonderful game! :)
At 7:18 pm,
Anonymous said…
Bobo,
With regards to abusing the linesman; possibly you misunderstood my statement. I was commenting from a fans perspective not as a player – and like Lofty said “we’ve all done it!” I totally agree, players should definitely not be allowed to abuse the ref or his assistants but that falls within the boundaries of respect that are alongside the way we speak to our bosses or our parents. But as a supporter… it’s our duty to point out when these people make an error!!
Again, I agree football does suffer from a lack of respect and sportsmanship but can rules pacify players’ tempers and passion? Perhaps the solution to this problem is education rather than control.
Corinne
At 8:08 pm,
Bob said…
Lofty & Corrine,
I'm sorry, I think I did misinterpret what you meant, or at least I took it too far. Absolutely fans are paying for entertainment and they get to yell at the refs, the players and anybody else. I hope that the world will always be a safe place for songs about tits and fannies.
Cheers,
Bobo
At 12:12 am,
Anonymous said…
I found this posting very interesting in several ways. Firstly, that the issue i.e. sexism. Surely Corinne, you cannot accept anyone being sexist regardless of the reason? If Newell had criticised the referee's assistant because of a poor decision then I would have taken it as it was...a show of disappointment. But he attacked the gender of that person. What if the referee's assistant had been black and Newell had commented about that in his vitriol; would you have accepted that?
Secondly, "Historically football has been a ‘man’s game’! Why should this have to change because of our country’s obsession with political correctness?" It sounds as if you want to go back to the times when a woman's place was in the home, doing all the housework and bringing up the children. I am sure you have or will have a career, that wouldn't have been the case when football was a 'man's game'.
My next point: "Obviously, I believe in equality (to most extents) but is there anything so wrong in men keeping football for themselves?". Well yes, it's sexist! And why is it "obvious" that you mostly believe in equality? That is a contradiction of the whole topic. My other points have mostly been covered by Bobo and so I won't repeat them.
Ellie
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