What can we do?

Quoted from mariner91

Call me a snowflake but I genuinely think Alex Scott is quite good. Much rather listen to her than have Jamie Redknapp talk a load of balls.

Yes, maybe. But what people cannot seem to see is that in TAOW we have totally dispensed with any notion of meritocracy.  How good she is does not matter anymore to the people who count. Therefore this encourages rather than solves racism or sexism.

A black person achieves so they must have had positive discrimination. A black person fails so they must have suffered racism. The same applies to women in this context. Alex Scott cannot be good because she is a token. Whether she actually is any good is now irrelevant, she is a woman so she must be good or she must be awful depending on your standpoint. The polarising has been encouraged by political correctness as it was called.

This rush to the lowest common denominator, levelling down the field, dumbing down the presentation so that nobody should feel left out has worked against people with talent in every single ethnic group in every walk of life. It gives the racist/sexist/whateverist the perfect set of excuses, plays straight into their hands.

So we cannot kill racism while perceived imbalance and unfairness exists. We can drive it underground (maybe) with laws and media liberalism, we can play with quotas and salary caps, but kill it? No. We have given it fresh life. I was always a believer in equal opportunity but I just can’t see how that can happen now.

Alex Scott featuring regularly as a TV pundit IS an example of meritocracy because she's good at her job - it has nothing at all to do with her being A. a woman or B. black.

The suggestion that punditry in the 90s and early 2000s was actually meritocratic is laughable. The whole thing was a massive boys club where any old dipsomaniac was welcome to spout their views on air because they'd knocked a football about in their younger days.

Quoted from Chrisblor

Alex Scott featuring regularly as a TV pundit IS an example of meritocracy because she's good at her job - it has nothing at all to do with her being A. a woman or B. black.

The suggestion that punditry in the 90s and early 2000s was actually meritocratic is laughable. The whole thing was a massive boys club where any old dipsomaniac was welcome to spout their views on air because they'd knocked a football about in their younger days.

Please read what I put before getting on your high horse. I said she may be good but it is irrelevant now whether she is good, bad or indifferent. That does not matter. Her gender is all that matters to the people who employ her. You may not think so but to the broadcasters it is everything. Perception and quota filling matters so much more than ability. Also I never said or implied punditry had any meritocracy but I do say it now has absolutely no chance of achieving it.

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

This has been really eye-opening for me. I had always thought the victims of racism were those who were discriminated against and stereotyped or abused. I had never given a thought to those who have to occasionally hear about it happening and their plight. Truly heartbreaking.

....is the best post on this thread.

Quoted from Chrisblor

Alex Scott featuring regularly as a TV pundit IS an example of meritocracy because she's good at her job - it has nothing at all to do with her being A. a woman or B. black.

The suggestion that punditry in the 90s and early 2000s was actually meritocratic is laughable. The whole thing was a massive boys club where any old dipsomaniac was welcome to spout their views on air because they'd knocked a football about in their younger days.

You obviously missed the so called 'expert panel' commenting on the Man U and Chelsea games yesterday then Old pissheads who knocked a football about years ago are still getting job and the regular crowd who appear on Jeff Stelling's Saturday show are no better

And if lady commenators 'shriek' where does that leave that idiot Stelling?

I note that twit Jim White is absolutely creaming himself with excitement about the racism at the Hartlepool v Dover game this weekend. He absolutely loves a crisis (a la Bury) and incidents like the one this weekend. Report it of course, milk it and look for members of the public to inflame the event / give him more drama, no.

Jim White's no different to anyone else on Talksport. They spout stupid things or sensationalise trivia in the hope of getting stupid people to call in and pay 13p a minute. He's does happen to be good at that though and appears to have an endless stream of the stupid ones prepared to pay!
By the way the Hartlepool thing isn't trivia and the poolie bunker is full of it as you would imagine. Seems 98% decent supporters are deeply embarrassed by the 2% idiots, same as all clubs

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

There are two things about female commentators and pundits I don't like.

1. The commentators shriek when they pretend to be enthusiastic.

2. They are so obviously not there for their ability or knowledge but as virtue signalling by the broadcaster.

This does not apply to the race issue, we have had good black pundits for years now, but I do get annoyed when we get foreign ex-players on there whose accents make them unintelligible and who do not know enough English to be able to express what they really mean. They are only there for their name.

To a degree the same applies with those stupid PL after match interviews. You have a woman trying to sound knowledgable talking to a man who cannot put two words of English together! How to fill 60 seconds of screen time with nothing.

Just to be clear, RonRafferty isn't sexist, he just hates every female commentator or pundits screechy voice and thinks none of them as are good as men.

Admittedly I've not watched it for along time but i was always annoyed with Sky Sports always employing really attractive women as their news readers - what about the ugly men & women?

Quoted from mariner91

Call me a snowflake but I genuinely think Alex Scott is quite good. Much rather listen to her than have Jamie Redknapp talk a load of balls.

I dont like Alex Scott.

I love her.