Sky presenter quits in sexism row after rant blaming 'dark forces'

THE SKY Sports football presenter Richard Keys finally resignedlast night after his extraordinary attempt to save his job bypublicly apologising for a series of sexist remarks ended in himdamning his own employer with references to the work of "darkforces".

Keys said in a statement released by Sky Sports: "I am deeplysorry for my remarks and the offence they have caused; it was wrongand should not have happened. I have thought long and hard andreached the decision that it is time to move on. Going forwardwithout Andy would have been almost impossible."

The statement followed his lengthy interview on the radio stationTalkSport, in which he slated his bosses at BSkyB for notpublicising the fact that he had apologised to Sian Massey, theassistant referee who had been the target for some of his comments."There are some dark forces at work here," he muttered to listeners.

Asked why he had chosen TalkSport, Keys, 53, responded: "I listento you guys all the time, this is the best place, I felt, for me tocome and be allowed the time to say what I think."

He pointed out: "I don't have an agent, I don't have a spindoctor, I don't tweet, I don't have blogs or websites."

As an exercise in how not to limit the damage of what Keyshimself described as "a firestorm", the presenter's handling of theissue will be taught on public relations courses for years to come.

Keys may not engage with the internet but colleagues were happyto let the online world know what he was like. After details of hisscornful comments to co-presenter Andy Gray about Ms Massey'sincomprehension of the offside rule were leaked to The Mail onSunday, a series of damaging clips of outrageous sexism have emergedthis week on YouTube. All were pieces of off-air footage.

Clips Two and Three, as they have become known in the corridorsof Sky at Isleworth, west London, were enough to do for Gray, theformer Scotland striker and foremost pundit on Sky Sports. With Grayhaving an outstanding legal action against The News of the World(owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, the biggest shareholder inBSkyB), speculation emerged that he had been punished from on high,having previously been tolerated. Could these have been Keys' "darkforces"?

While Gray was sacked, Keys was allowed to stay on, apparentlyconsidered less dispensable as the ubiquitous anchor of much ofSky's football output. A former breakfast television presenter withTV-am, he has been with Sky Sports since 1992, being ever present asthe satellite broadcaster has revolutionised coverage of Britishfootball.

But as figures from across the game lined up to criticise Keysfor his sexist views, few, save the right-wing shock jock Jon Gaunt,a fellow Coventry City supporter, were prepared to fight his corner.Then Clip Four emerged showing Keys crudely discussing a woman -describing her as "it" - in an off-air moment. The presenter decidedit was time to embark on a charm offensive.

In scenes reminiscent of the Steve Coogan character AlanPartridge, he ended up on TalkSport posing as a chivalrous knight,coming to the protection of Ms Massey. "If the people who arepassing judgement on this have any self-respect, they will stophounding Sian. Leave her alone! This is not her fault!"

Rather than simply accepting full responsibility for his actions,he accused his critics - footballer Rio Ferdinand and West HamUnited vice-chairman Karren Brady - of being hypocrites. And heblamed his employers - "individuals at Sky" - who had prevented himmaking public his apology to Ms Massey.

His resignation came as Gray apologised for his role in the row,saying he was "devastated by losing the job that I love".

Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports, said: "It isdisappointing that Richard's career at Sky should end in thesecircumstances."

It seems Richard Keys was dispensable after all.

WHAT KEYS SAID IN HIS RADIO INTERVIEW

* "I cannot believe the frenzy that's blown up. There are darkforces at work here."

"I noticed Rio Ferdinand tweeted and said 'prehistoric banter, noplace for it'. Rio. Are you telling me it does not take place in theManchester United dressing room? My information says it does."

"There is a wider conversation here about is it sexist, is it'lads' mags banter'. Is there a place for it? That is not for me tojudge and this is not the time for that conversation."

"I tried to ring Karren twice on Sunday night. She didn't answerthe phone. There is no answerphone on Karren's mobile. That may be asign of the times at West Ham, I don't know."

"Our prehistoric banter is not acceptable in a modern world, Iaccept that. We got it wrong. We failed to change while everythingwas changing about us but one of the reasons is that we liked tohave what is described as prehistoric banter."

"We [Sky] have grown up with nobody liking us. We are a littlebit like Wimbledon - we have to upset people along the way to getnoticed."

* On the clips that recently came to light on YouTube: "Shocking,horrible, out of order, wrong... old-fashioned, no place,behavioural problems that need to be attended to, yeah,reconstruction, yeah."

"I hope this starts... the process of recovery and everybody nowcan just step back and understand that you know, these boorish andbullish guys understand the magnitude of what happened."

Further reports and analysis on the Sky Sports sexism row

Sport, pages 62-64

Julie Burchill: Sexist presenters? It's a funny old subject

Page 15

John Walsh: How to know when you've gone too far

Viewspaper, page 5

Michael Caines: Sexism and Michelin-starred kitchens

Viewspaper, page 17