The daily race baiting at the BBC We’re expected to accept that it’s so normal now that it’s out of control and just needs to be called out.
This week, the company decided to mock the inspirational success of the England Lionesses because of the skin color of the team’s incredible female footballers.
Instead of celebrating the record-breaking win over Norway, during his ultra-alert coverage of the Women’s Euro 2022 the following evening, ashen presenter Eilidh Barbour soberly declared: “It was a historic eight-goal win for England last night as the Lionesses secured their place in the quarter-finals – but all the starting XI players and the five substitutes on the pitch were whole White. And that points to a lack of diversity in women’s football in England.’
In her wisdom, the Beeb then took the time from the analysis of the tournament that sports fans expect to broadcast a special investigation of its star host, Alex Scott, with dejected orchestral music.
But her first question to Football Beyond Borders’ Debra Nelson set the tone for the report.
She asked: “It’s so alarming to me that I see you talking about this current England team and saying that as a young black woman, this team doesn’t speak to you or inspire you.”
This week, the company decided to mock the inspirational success of the England Lionesses because of the skin color of the team’s incredible female footballers
England’s Beth Mead and Alessia Russo celebrate a historic victory over Norway at the Euro
Ellen White scores for England in the Lionesses’ win against Norway earlier this week
Nelson responded with the usual bright-eyed terminology we’ve come to expect from the anti-racist brigade, which sees race in every single aspect of life: “You have to feel like you can see yourself in order for you to be a model.” If someone doesn’t have the same lived experiences as you, they don’t come from the same background as you… how can they be your role model?’
What a depressing way to see the world.
It’s also utter bullshit of course considering many of the greatest sporting role models in history for all ethnic groups were athletes like Muhammed Ali, Jackie Robinson, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Simone Biles… I mean the list is endless.
The absurdity of the BBC’s desperate desire to turn the Lionesses into a racial debate was exposed when the discussion returned to presenters at the stadium, which included black ex-England player Anita Asante.
She said: “Visibility matters. I’ve been fortunate to have played with my role models – Rachel Yankey, Mary Phillip to name a few – (and) to play under a black manager for England.”
She was referring to Hope Powell, who played for the team from 1983 to 1998, capped 66 caps and scored 35 goals, then made it from 1998 to 2013.
So the racial makeup of the current team is an anomaly, not widespread.
Commenting on it and making it a feature of his reporting feels to me like yet another attempt to foment racial divisions in this country.
Surely every manager should select the best players for the team on any given day, regardless of their skin color or ethnicity.
No one rightly scolds when, for example, many Team GB sports squadrons are all black competitors, and they shouldn’t be.
BBC suggests national sports teams should now have ethnic quotas?
Or do you have any indication of systemic racism in women’s football? If this is the case, they should investigate and provide evidence before broadcasting.
It was more likely that this was just another attempt to portray England as institutionally racist, when the Sewell Report conclusively concluded that it was not.
No wonder the BBC’s annual report this week showed that according to a poll of over-16s by Ipsos Mori, just 51 per cent of UK adults believe the channel is effective in delivering impartial news and current affairs, down from five percent compared to the previous year corresponds to .
In reality it means the equivalent of three million Britons are losing faith in the public broadcaster, despite being forced to pay a £159 poll tax just to be able to watch TV.
Rather than celebrate the record-breaking win over Norway, during the next night’s ultra-awake coverage of the Women’s Euro 2022, there was a sobering statement from ashen presenter Eilidh Barbour (pictured).
The irony of the situation, of course, is that just as the BBC was berating the ‘all white’ lionesses, a newly released official list of the wealthy revealed that their own first XI was also all white. Gary Lineker (pictured), the left-wing virtue signaller-in-chief, topped the list with a disgusting salary of at least £1.35million
The irony of the situation, of course, is that just as the BBC was berating the ‘all white’ lionesses, a newly released official list of the wealthy revealed that their own first XI was also all white.
Left virtue signaller-in-chief Gary Lineker topped the list with a nauseous salary of at least £1.35million for reading the autocue on Match of the Day for a couple of hours a month.
The other top ten earners were Zoe Ball (£980,000), Alan Shearer (£450,000), Steve Wright (£450,000), Steven Nolan (£415,000), Fiona Bruce (£410,000), Huw Edwards (£410,000), Vanessa Feltz ( £400,000), Scott Mills (£400,000), Greg James (£390,000) and Ken Bruce (£385,000).
Where are the BBC reports on the lack of diversity among their own disgusting big earners? Nowhere of course.
Because the Beeb is an organization that loves to taunt others while remaining as white, liberal, and middle-class as it gets.
I mean, just today on BBC2’s Politics Live lunchtime show, presenter Alex Forsyth three times called my GB News colleague Inaya Folarin Iman, a guest on the show, Kemi.
She is believed to have confused Inaya as a young black boy with Tory leadership contender Kemi Badernoch.
But as Inaya tweeted this afternoon: “I’ve been called ‘Kemi’ three times today by the presenter of BBC Politics Live. It obviously wasn’t malicious, but it really shouldn’t be something that happens at all, let alone multiple times.’
So maybe the BBC should stop looking for racism in every other organisation, company, sports team, TV show, historical artwork, film and politician in the country for a moment and focus on putting its own house in order.
Unlike them, I will unabashedly support the Lionesses because they are at the top of their game and brilliant role models for England.
