May 20 – The Premier League has given its chief executive Richard Scudamore a vote of confidence following his now infamous emailed sexism comments that were published in an English Sunday newspaper. But the adverse reaction to his comments has kicked up a storm that shows no sign of abating.
The Premier League said in a statement issued on behalf of its members that “no further disciplinary action is required or justified” following Scudamore’s public apology.
The statement said there was “no climate of disrespect of women in the workplace” at the Premier League and claimed that Scudamore’s female colleagues at the organisation made it clear his “conduct and behaviour have been beyond reproach”.
All current Premier League clubs were consulted over the matter and they recognised that Scudamore had a “previously unblemished record over 15 years of service” to the organisation.
The Premier League statement added: “These emails were private communications between friends of long-standing and the temporary PA was not exposed to them in the course of her duties but had to search for them in a private email account which she was not authorised to access.
“Examination of a very large quantity of emails and other documents, including those copied without authorisation by the former employee, indicate that there is no evidence of wider discriminatory attitudes or inappropriate language or a general attitude of disrespect to women.”
In his own statement, Scudamore said the published exchanges “do not reflect my views towards women in football, the workplace or in general. It’s something never to be repeated.”
Scudamore, who has led the Premier League since 1999 and been the driving force behind its phenomenal global success, sent messages which referred to women in derogatory terms and contained sexual innuendos.
Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC that a member of his cabinet would not have survived if he had admitted to sending sexist emails. Football Association board member Heather Rabbatts was among those to have criticised Scudamore. She also accused the Premier League of having a “closed culture of sexism.”
Lord Herman Ouseley, chairman of the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign group, believes the process used to keep Scudamore in his job was “flawed” and needs to be reviewed for cases in the future.
“It is incumbent on the Premier League to put in place a proper, objective, fair and independent process for dealing with such important matters,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a report to celebrate 20 years since Kick It Out was founded, Ouseley said more willingness needed to be shown to tackle discrimination in the game, claiming the top of the football pyramid was still “a bastion of white male domination”.
“Progress, while notable and helpful, remains painfully slow,” he said.
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