The suffragettes didn’t throw themselves under the hooves of stallions so that, decades later, middle-class women could use their movement to throw male allies under the bus. Eni Aluko’s finger-wagging at Ian Wright is a blasphemous attempt to cloak self-interest as feminism. Hundreds of women have benefited from Ian Wright’s career – he has used his influence and resources to support and invest in women’s sport. Judging from what is publicly available, Eni Aluko’s ascendant career has not provided such targeted assistance specifically for women.
On Women’s Hour this week she discussed the abuse she receives as a female sports pundit (which nobody with working eyesight and an internet connection can doubt). It was during this appearance that she seemed to criticise Wright, saying: “I’ve worked with Ian a long time and, you know, I think he’s a brilliant broadcaster, but I think he’s aware of just how much he’s doing in the women’s game. I think he should be aware of that.”
She went on: “The fact of the matter is, there is a limited amount of spaces available. If we had a situation where there was an equal opportunity in the men’s game for broadcasters and coaches that there is in the women’s game, it’s a free for all. But that’s not the case. I can’t dominate the men’s game in the way that, you know, you used Ian as an example.”
When the presenter pressed her on Wright commentating on female football specifically, Aluko said: “I don’t know about wrong, but I think we need to be conscious and we need to make sure that women are not being blocked from having a pathway into broadcasting in the women’s game.” Sports punditry has come a long way. So much so that now the ITV and the BBC uses a majority women pundit team for women’s league games.
And yet that is not enough for Aluko. She still feels justified saying Wright blocks women from dominating women sport punditry despite having only been a commentator on one match in the entire 14-year history of the Women’s Super
League.
It seems supporting and investing in women is not enough. Perhaps male allies should also resign from their own careers, the ones that give them the clout we ask them to use to lift women up, to make space for women like Aluko. She had an opportunity to clarify her position on Ian Wright. She did not budge. Imagine how disillusioned with feminism some young boys would become seeing the attack on Wright.
He is a universally beloved sports pundit with decades of experience in a largely male-dominated field. Yet, he has been an enthusiastic attendee of women’s games, a vocal critic of high-profile figures who overlook these matches, and a steadfast investor in female athletes. His love for the sport is so genuine that he is frequently spotted in the audience at women’s games, cheering on the teams.
During the 2022 Euros he gave an impassioned speech on the BBC: “Whatever happens in the final now, if girls are not allowed to play football in their PE, just like the boys can, what are we doing? We have to make sure they are able to play and get the opportunity to do so.”
In 2023 he started the Ian Wright Coaching Fund to increase the number of female coaches from the ground up, funding 664 people to attend a Level One training course. The Government later pledged to give equal access to sports to girls.
When MeToo arrived on our island and instilled the fear of God in all men with a public profile Wright’s corporate bosses must have wanted to milk feminist signalling to get more bums on seats, eyes on screens and a pat on the back from their millennial/zoomer daughters. Wright survived the period unscathed by scandals as he is of excellent moral standing. Women’s football rose in profile, in no small part because men like Wright with a personal following and charisma infected their audience with their enthusiasm for women’s games.
After Anuko came for him, we also found out that privately he was covering the medical bills of a female player he’d never met in real life, out of his own pocket (the player posted about this herself). Eni Aluko should apologise and clarify her remarks if she did not mean to attack Ian Wright but given that she hasn’t yet done so one can only assume she really did think women would be best served if allies like Ian Wright stepped aside.
The stark reality is this: few women play sports, even fewer watch them enough to be as financially lucrative as men’s, and few listen to sports commentary. Surely then, the limelight that popular figures like Wright bring to the games should be embraced, not punished. If men and boys see good allyship being twisted into unfair competition, how are we going to inspire more to support women and girls?
Content Source: www.express.co.uk