Rio Cycling - Mail Sexism Hypocrisy

Team GB’s cycling team has brought home a stack of medals from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, underscoring the superiority it demonstrated in both Beijing in 2008, and London four years ago. This has meant millions of happy viewers tuning in to the BBC, and in turn has presented the BBC-hating press with countless opportunities to kick the Corporation for, well, anything they can make up in order to drive sales and clicks.

Chris Boardman

And so it came to pass: when Jason Kenny won gold in the Mens’ Keirin final, after his fiancée Laura Trott had also topped the podium, former gold medallist Chris Boardman, who was commentating for the BBC, observed the happy couple embracing and remarked “She's doing the emotion for both of them really, isn't it? He's looking at her going ‘what's for tea?’” The Mail was not first out of the blocks, but it went there anyway.

“Chris Boardman slammed for ‘sexist remark’ while commentating on golden couple Laura Trott and Jason Kenny … A BBC commentator has prompted a sexism row after saying Jason Kenny was looking at fiancée Laura Trott after their gold medal wins, thinking ‘What's for tea?’ … Chris Boardman made the comment on the BBC’s coverage of Kenny’s win at Rio 2016 in the velodrome last night as he drew level with Sir Chris Hoy on six golds”. And there was more - rather a lot more.

“The comment was criticised, with viewers labelling it 'disgusting', ridiculous' and 'casual sexism'. One said: ‘She's a four-time Olympic gold winner, not his cook.’ … Another compared him to fellow BBC commentator John Inverdale, who in 2013 infamously said that tennis player Marion Bartoli was 'never going to be a looker’”. As Sir Sean nearly said, I think we got the point. But the Mail has no room to go there.

Take the articles on the same website about the same athletes: these are adorned with headlines like “'Medals for best Olympic hair too': She may have won gold twice at Rio but Twitter is more interested in cyclist Laura Trott's PLAITS”, and then there is “'It's date night with my one true love!' Gushing golden GB girl Laura keeps a VERY romantic diary of her love story with 'superhero King Kenny' and their 'little family' of dogs’”.

But it’s not sexist, no sirree, and neither, one suspects, are headlines on the same website at the time this post was typed reading “Viva Las Vegas! Busty Melanie Sykes shows off her flawless physique in hot pink bikini as she prepares for racy new calendar shoot”, “A Lowe-cut number: Daisy flashes her ample cleavage and a hint of lace bra under a tight white vest as she enjoys a night out in London”, “TOWIE’s Pascal Craymer displays some serious sideboob as she goes braless in flimsy white vest”, and “She means business! Ariel Winter flashes cleavage in low-cut crop top and striped jacket at Variety Power of Young Hollywood event”. That’s how not at all sexist the Mail really is.

So the Dacre doggies have so little room to go after Chris Boardman and the BBC that their display gets them an unequivocal straight-A F*** Right Off Award.

The Mail is the last organisation to call sexism on anyone. No change there, then.