Emma Hayes shove in the Arsenal v Chelsea Conti Cup Final by Dan Smith
Emma Hayes has done a lot to contribute to the growth of Women’s football in England. In the summer she takes charge of the USA national team, one of the most high-profile jobs for Females in the sport. On the occasions Mrs Hayes has done any punditry and commentating I have found her insightful.
So, it’s such a shame to learn in the last few weeks she doesn’t do irony.
First the Chelsea manager accuses Jonas Eidevall of ‘male aggression’ when the only aggression evident was her shoving Arsenal’s head coach at the full-time whistle of the Conti Cup.
It seemed strange that a role model for equality would, in front of a TV audience, stereotype by gender. Ladies are allowed to shout on the touchline in the WSL but not if you’re a man apparently.
The 47-year-old has had a couple of weeks off work to reflect on her comments. In that time, she would have read how many people thought her press conference after the Final was double standards. She would have listened to survivors of abuse condemn her for comparing ‘male aggression’ to something as trivial as a disagreement over a throw in. She will understand that without video or audio recordings, Mr Eidevall would not have been protected.
Yet it took her young son to sit down his mum and educate her. He simply wanted to know why he was watching his mum shove her opponent instead of accepting a hand shake, pointing out, ‘Mummy, when you push someone in school you’re asked to go and take time out .’
A school child teaching a fully grown adult rights and wrongs.
Hayes says since she has ‘reflected’ and ‘that she will listen to her son’s advice’, ‘lessons have been learnt’ and that next time instead of meeting ‘aggression with aggression’ ‘she will look at my star.’
There was still a failure on her behalf to specify how she was subjected to aggression but either way clearly, she regrets her conduct at the full-time whistle at the Molineux.
She used all kinds of words accept the most obvious most use when they think they have done or said something wrong.
Especially when you’re telling your own child you made a mistake. It’s one word, two syllables, starts with an S and ends in a Y.
Instead, we got a recital of Robert Frost’s Choose Something Like a Star. These 4 lines were quoted,
“So, when at times the mob is swayed, to carry praise and blame too far, we may choose somewhere like a star, to stay our minds on and be staid.,”
Which is lovely?
Yet an apology doesn’t need a poem, an analogy, a metaphor, etc. It needs such a simple word …. ‘sorry’.
That would be the best lesson she could teach her son. That you accept a defeat with grace and class. No matter the pain of a loss you have the dignity to shake your opponent’s hands and say well done.
It’s funny, all the fancy words and yet she struggles to say the simplest of words.
Emma Hayes doesn’t do irony though does she?
Dan
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instead of meeting ‘aggression with aggression’ ‘she will look at my star.’
This clearly shows that she has learnt nothing and her fake apology is as veiled as it is despicable.
If you can’t accept you were wrong and simply say sorry then i hope she is never a role model for any woman or little girl.
It’s true that as men, we are stereotyped to be aggressive! I don’t expect any grown up to feel offended by that given it’s a FACT. On Emma though, i can’t help but wonder how she will cope when “male aggression” indeed descends on her! interesting how she fares from now on.
VAMOS, I see it only in part the fault of stereotyping, but mainly because we males have TESTOSTERONE in our bodies and often to excess.
TESTOSTERONE is widely recognised and agreed by knowledgeable medical folk, to be a prime cause of MALE aggression.
Women though have a far less amount of testosterone and do not start wars and fight and hold bitter to the “death” feuds with other humans, GENERALLY SPEAKING.
Of course there ARE exceptions, but exceptions do not disprove the rule.
Some valid points you’ve added Jon. i agree!