Grown-up society leaves odd couple behind
KEYS And Gray Face New Sexism Storm: the headline was short and pointed, the details offensively familiar. Somebody with an abiding contempt for the television presenters had leaked another video example of their unacceptable behaviour.
Last time, when they were prominent figures with Sky Sports, the target of their abuse was a referee’s assistant named Sian Massey. This time, in another clip from that golden era, their victim was the presenter Clare Tomlinson.
The stories are well-known. Ms Massey, a respected official, was jeered for daring to run the line at a senior football match, while Ms Tomlinson — an immensely accomplished broadcaster — was treated to the kind of insults usually found in a particularly unpleasant playground.
As you will have noticed, both these targets are women and, therefore, it appears, prime candidates for the kind of witless bullying favoured by the odious pair.
And yet, the world is changing. Three years ago, when the first clips emerged, Keys and Gray actually found a few kindred spirits prepared to support them. The former football person, Peter Reid, drivelled a few clichés about ‘political correctness’, while sympathy was predictably forthcoming from Jeremy Clarkson and the tiresome adolescents of Top Gear. This time, the pair appear to be pretty much on their own.
It is a heartening sign that society at large has grown up. If only Keys and Gray could make a similar claim.