BBC accused of 'covering up' Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers' 'sexism'

Eamonn Holmes has come to the defense of Brendan Rodgers following criticism of the Celtic manager for his remarks to BBC reporter Jane Lewis during a post-match interview.

Rodgers, 51, has been accused of displaying 'casual sexism' after referring to Lewis, 53, as a 'good girl.' This comment led to backlash from women's groups, labeling Rodgers as 'outdated.'

Despite the outcry, Rodgers has chosen not to apologize to Lewis for the exchange, which was broadcast on the Sportsound radio show. The BBC has also refrained from commenting on the matter.

Holmes has defended Rodgers, stating that the manager was simply using a common turn of phrase in Northern Ireland.

'He meant good girl,' he told GB News. 'Brendan Rodgers is from Carnock in Northern Ireland. We say ''good girl'' all the time. We are admonished for it all the time because it's not contemporary.

'I can honestly tell you that Northern Irish people will say ''good girl, good boy, good lad''.'

A person familiar with Lewis's perspective has informed MailOnline that the seasoned broadcaster is 'unperturbed' by the 'good girl' remark and instead felt disappointed that Rodgers decided to terminate the interview prematurely, despite the interviewer's adherence to a fair line of questioning.

Lewis had asked Rodgers to explain himself after he told her that, in terms of the Scottish Premiership title race, 'the story has already been written about this group, but we will write our own story'.

Lewis had asked Rodgers to explain himself after he told her that, in terms of the Scottish Premiership title race, 'the story has already been written about this group, but we will write our own story'.

Lewis again pressed Rodgers to explain, but he appeared to wind up the interview and said: 'Done, good girl, well done.'

However, a spokeswoman from the Scottish Feminist Network said: 'Jane Lewis was just doing her job, trying to extract an explanation from Brendan Rodgers on his cryptic comment. 

'That the go-to attitude was condescension is quite illuminating, but really very depressing in 2024. We thought dinosaurs were extinct.'

A spokeswoman said: 'It's depressing that casual sexism is still embedded in sport. Women's achievements are underrated and dismissed, and their professional status undermined. Rodgers owes the reporter an apology.'

Meanwhile, Tam McManus, a former Hibs player, expressed his disapproval of Rodgers' comments as 'extremely embarrassing' on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

When Mail Sport reached out to Celtic for a comment on Sunday evening, the club opted not to respond.

Renowned broadcaster Jeff Stelling was taken aback by Rodgers' 'good girl' comment.

In a discussion on talkSPORT, he remarked, 'Good girl, good girl? My goodness, Brendan. What was he trying to say?'

Rodgers is feeling the heat amid a closely contested title race against arch-rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Rangers secured a 5-0 victory over Hearts on Saturday, establishing a five-point lead over Celtic at the top. However, late goals in their match against Motherwell reduced the gap to just two points.

Experienced broadcaster Lewis, who has worked with Sky News, Sky Sports, Eurosport, and STV's Scotland Today, was subjected to online harassment by social media trolls following Sunday's incident.

Lewis has covered major sporting events such as the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow and on Australia's Gold Coast.