Britain: Where nothing you say is private

Britain has evolved, said Matthew Syed in the London Times. “Crude and vindictive chauvinism” is no longer socially acceptable—not even among sportscasters. Last week, two commentators for Sky Sports, Andy Gray and Richard Keys, were suspended after an off-camera conversation of theirs was made public. They had mocked a female line judge, saying she shouldn’t be calling penalties in a soccer game because, in Gray’s words, “women do not understand the offside rule.” Gray was then fired after someone came forward with footage of him asking a female colleague to place his microphone down his pants, saying, “Will you tuck this in for me, love?” Keys subsequently quit. Apologists for the two men argue that their exchange was “just banter” that meant no harm. But that, of course, is the same argument once used by those who made jokes about blacks or “Pakis”—all in good fun, right? Wrong. Racist jokes are no longer considered funny. And now, the sacking of Gray “has sent a powerful signal” that our society no longer tolerates misogyny.

Hold on, said Allison Pearson in the The Telegraph. Doesn’t a free society allow people to hold repugnant views? “I’m not thrilled Gray and Keys took snide potshots at women encroaching on their AstroTurf,” especially considering that the female line judge’s call that they questioned was upheld by the instant replay. Still, the two men were having a private conversation off camera. It’s hardly fair to fire someone for harboring “private prejudices,” no matter how crass and unfair. “As a woman, I may not grasp the offside rule, but crying foul every time some daft bugger puts his boot in his mouth? That’s bad sport.”

It’s worse than that—it’s the “thought police” in action, said Peter Hitchens in the Daily Mail. The “sanctimonious” complainers who bayed for the heads of the two sportscasters are “dangerous, intolerant totalitarians.” It’s not as if anyone was actually harmed by this private speech. The line judge in question has surely heard all kinds of sexist doubts about her abilities before, and the woman who was subjected to the microphone gag is a “tough, professional modern woman,” who can easily shrug off such “pathetic, dirty-old-man humor.” Yet two men lost their jobs over these throwaway comments. “If they can lose their jobs because of private remarks, then so can anyone else.”

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The entire concept of a private conversation may be obsolete—to all our detriment, said Charlie Brooker in The Guardian. “Everyone says stupid and objectionable things in private.” That’s why it’s universally acknowledged to be unforgivable to put people on speakerphone without warning them first. They’re almost guaranteed to embarrass themselves by denigrating some group or other that has a member standing right there—be it the elderly, vegans, or what have you. In fact, you could bring down any public figure “simply by following him around with a concealed microphone long enough.” But please don’t. “We’re in danger of creating a world where everyone has to walk around beaming like an inoffensive game-show host.”