There is a new columnist over at the Irish Times this week. In his second article, Jim McGuinness took aim at RTE and the 'culture of disrespect' among their Gaelic football analysts.
He is adamant that the great Joe Brolly/Marty Morrissey scandal should serve as a catalyst for RTE to analyse its analysis.
RTÉ should control the content but I feel in many respects they have sat on their hands and let the sensationalism evolve. I enjoy opinion and strong opinion at that. But there is a very important line between opinion and disrespect. People have a right to express their opinion but when their comments cross over into disrespect, it is an issue.
Like most northern critics of the RTE football panel, he praised the gentler and more enthusiastic hurling analysts and indicated that they should serve as a model for the football boys.
The Sunday Game, he said, was now 'more crass than class'. He got somewhat over-sensitive when he complained about Donegal being compared to the 'Taliban' and ruled that phrases such as 'the black death of football', 'farcical tactics' and good old 'puke football' were out of order.
The reference to 'the Taliban' when it came to Donegal football: that carries very clear and very damaging connotations. It is more than just a soundbite or a throwaway line. Where does that leave us? Why associate us with that?
To his credit, he stopped shy of saying people should take the opportunity to watch Sky Sports when there is an alternative.
You can read the article here.
Joe Brolly, presumably the main target in all of this, summed up his own credo in this Ulster GAA video from 2011.
