BBC Scotland radio host, Tam Cowan, was dropped from his "Off the ball" slot after his recent newspaper column caused controversy. The comments he made followed Scotland women's 7-0 win over Bosnia Herzegovina at Fir Park, last week.
The article began with: "If I had my way, today's Premiership fixture between Motherwell and Ross County would have been cancelled. That's because Fir Park should have been torched on Thursday in order to cleanse the stadium after it played host to women's football. Why do they still persevere with this turgid spectacle? And why was it allowed anywhere near Motherwell's hallowed turf?"
He further added: "Admittedly, I've not seen a lot of women's football…and I'm not having a pop at the people taking part. Just the other week, I bumped into a couple of women footballers (I've still got the bruises to prove it) and they were honestly two of the nicest blokes I've ever met…
…Face it, folks, nobody cares about women's football. There was barely a thousand inside the ground, shocking for an international in ANY sport, and I guess putting the girlies head-to-head with Emmerdale and Eastenders was a bit daft."
Cowan, who writes the bi-weekly column, is regarded somewhat as a funnyman. The Daily record (the newspaper he works for), even went so far as to back him up and stated that his article should be "taken with a pinch of salt". Many people have since spoken out in support of Cowan, saying that he has the right to freedom of speech. Yes we all have that right, but to do it in this manner is tasteless and reminds us all that we still have a long way to go in the battle of sexism on and off the pitch.
It's disheartening for the players who have won their first two games in their 2015 World Cup qualifying campaign, to have their win tarnished by this 1970's-style misogynistic article, full of crude jokes and degrading comments. It is not apparent yet how long the BBC have dropped Cowan for, due to his column not being linked with their company, it causes complications. However, hopefully this story doesn't go unnoticed and the correct action is taken, not only for the BBC's reputation, but for the sake of game's future development.
The full article can be found here: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tam-cowan-fir-park-should-2314034
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