Clare-Balding Claims Football Fans Are Homophobic And Racist.

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2301012/Football-fans-homophobic-racist-says-Clare-Balding-claims-women-players-skillful-men.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

While Clare Balding is dishing out labels to male football fans by calling them both homophobic and racist, and then also claiming that women players are more skillful than men, perhaps she should at the same time attach the label sexist to herself?

Incidentally why did the BBC deem it necessary to employ her to host the Boat Race, as if we don't we see far too much of her on our screens now?

[ladybirder]

Can somebody explain to me how she is "above her station" please? I don't get it, what has she done to be above it? She seems a very nice lady who does her job rather well and is popular. How is that above her station? And what should she do to get back to her station or should she be below it?

[emmie]

LB, i didn't get that either....

[Connemmara]

Ha ha - I didn't get it either regarding the other posting re the troll - haven't a balding about it

[New Judge]

There is a widespread attitude around that anybody who works hard, perhaps gains a few qualifications, is successful in their work and who possibly speaks “posh” is ripe for attack. Being “above their station” is one accusation, being “snooty”, “snobbish” and many descriptions that would fall foul of the AB censor are among the others. To some minds in the UK being a success is worse than shooting a puppy.

So it is with Ms Balding. I have not seen much of her on TV because I do not watch many of the events she covers. But I have seen her occasionally (I did catch a bit of her in the run up to the Boat Race yesterday) and she seems perfectly pleasant, competent and well suited to the tasks the TV people ask her to undertake.

Quite why she should be seen as “above her station” is beyond me. Firstly I’m not sure what her station is and quite why she should be seen above it is by no means clear. It all seems part of the dumbing down of the nation. Not so long ago young people had aspirations to achieve goals. Doing what Ms Balding does would be something many would aspire to. Now many of them seem only able to moan about their plight and denigrate anybody who has been the least big successful. As an example, see mattk’s reaction to this question about the Boat Race:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Sport/Question1229506.html

Only in the UK is success seen as a threat to democracy.

[Sqad]

NJ

\\To some minds in the UK being a success is worse than shooting a puppy.\\

\\\Only in the UK is success seen as a threat to democracy. \\\

LOL...exactly....well written.

[emmie]

which is what i have always thought, achievement doesn't always bring it's own rewards, that class envy is alive and kicking, that we should be done with that rubbish by now, but haven't.

[grumpy01]

I like Clare Balding's approach to presenting but I wonder if presenting programmes like Rugby League,as she has done in the past,may be asking a bit much.Still she doesn't have to worry about Willie Carson balancing on his stool (the wooden one in case your in any doubt given what comes out of his mouth)anymore.

[emmie]

she is a good easy going and knowledgeable presenter, her friendly joshing with Willie Carson was fun to watch

[bazwillrun]

"claiming that women players are more skillful than men"

yeah, righto Clare......i think she meant some of them look like men

[emmie]

no they don't, and besides don't some of the blokes look like women...

[bazwillrun]

Some play like women !

[emmie]

if they do, why don't they win more, and sportingly, look at that man De Canio, a thug if ever there was one.

[bazwillrun]

"De Canio, a thug if ever there was one"

is it also April old tosh day well ?

what are you smoking

[emmie]

i don't smoke.

[anaxcrosswords]

I think AOG makes a fair point. If one of the MOTD presenters asserted that male soccer players were better than female he'd certainly be accused of sexism. Surely it works the other way, or have I got the concept of equality wrong?

[emmie]

perhaps look at my link about andy gray, that is just one of many sexist comments you could find, hear.

[anaxcrosswords]

And as a result Gray got what he deserved - pilloried.
I have nothing against Claire Balding. A friend took part in that recent Britain's Brightest show and I was in the audience, and she came across as very personable, knowledgeable and spontaneous. I just think the remark about female soccer players was ill-judged and, yes, sexist.

[Answerprancer]

"Why are you always on the attack AOG ? You must be a very unhappy person".
I couldn't agree more.
I'm surprised that a man of your age and supposed wisdom would answer this with a 'tit-for-tat' revenge post including some desperately scrabbled up quote rather than maybe trying to see what Canary is actually getting at.
(I now fully expect a similar response to this!)