Rodney Marsh sacked over tsunami joke

Davey Devil

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;sessionid=3FATJK4VBJY4JQFIQMFSM54AVCBQ0JVC?xml=/sport/2005/01/25/ufnmarsh.xml&_requestid=22197

Rodney Marsh, the football pundit, has been sacked by broadcaster Sky Sports after making an "inexcusable" joke about the Asian tsunami disaster.

Marsh, appearing on phone-in programme You're On Sky Sports, is believed to have joked that David Beckham had turned down a move to Newcastle after hearing of the trouble with the "Toon Army in Asia".

The former Queens Park Rangers, Manchester City and Fulham striker was sacked after bosses reviewed his comments this morning.

A Sky Sports spokesman said: "During the live night-time phone-in, Rodney made comments that were offensive and inexcusable. An apology was made within the programme and Rodney's comments were edited and removed from later transmissions."

The frequently outspoken 60-year-old was quick to apologise today for his remarks.

He said: "I apologise unreservedly for any offence I caused by my thoughtless and inappropriate comment I made last night. My intention was to make a light-hearted football joke.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues and senior executives who have been brilliant to me and always supported me during my time at Sky. I am hugely disappointed in myself for letting them down."

bizmark

Talk about an over reaction cant even make a joke now with out loseing your job?

Zaph

It was a bit of an over-reaction for a pretty lame joke. But if you thought that was bad, what about this?

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=%5CCulture%5Carchive%5C200501%5CCUL20050125a.html

Radio Station Apologizes for Song Mocking Tsunami Victims By Susan Jones CNSNews.com Morning Editor January 25, 2005

(CNSNews.com) - There's nothing funny about the tsunami disaster that killed more than 220,000 people in South Asia, an Islamic civil rights group said, after a New York radio station played a song making fun of what happened.

WQHT-FM, known as Hot 97, later apologized on its website, saying it "regrets the airing of material that made light of a serious and tragic event. We apologize to our listeners and anyone who was offended."

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said it received complaints about the song, which mentions "Africans drowning, little Chinamen swept away." It also says God was laughing and telling victims to "swim."

The chorus, sung by a Michael Jackson imitator, says, "So now you're screwed -- in the tsunami, You better run or kiss your a** away, go find your mommy. I just saw her float by, a tree right through her head. And now the children will be sold in child slavery." The song is sung to the tune of "We Are the World."

"There is nothing funny about the massive death and destruction we all witnessed so recently in South Asia," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper in a statement. "If this was an attempt at humor, it was poorly conceived and badly executed."

HOT97, a hip-hop and R&B station, said it "takes pride in its community involvement," and said it has "joined with broadcasters nationwide to raise money for victims of the Tsunami. Our relief effort will result in a substantial cash donation," the station's website said.

Following complaints about the tsunami song, the station said Tarsha Nicole Jones -- the program director and morning DJ -- along with her entire staff "have agreed contribute one week's pay to tsunami relief efforts."

Miss Jones, as she is known to listeners, also apologized on air.

Wire reports said some New York lawmakers are demanding that the FCC crack down on the station that aired the song.

LegacyUser

have u heard it yet???? Jesus christ...i downloaded it. It is ****ing ridiculously harsh. OMG

The Rooster

I can't believe he's been sacked for that.

A public warning by Sky to his future conduct, an apology by Marsh (which he has already given) and a donation by Marsh to some charity. Then that should be the end of it.

The Muppet

The joke is in very bad taste. Marsh was stupid to think he could get away with broadcasting it.

dirkey_wynne

That joke was posted here the other day. I honestly don't think it's in bad taste. In my opinion it's mocking Beckham, and his supposed dimness. Not the victims of the Tsunami.

As for sacking him, a bit harsh, but I for one am delighted. Hate watching Sports Saturday, he's off watching the games, Stelling is talking. Then all you hear is "Ohh, Agh...Oh my god. Wow. Hahaha. phew. Whooaar." etc from off camera. You think something ridiculously amazing has happened, they cut to him and it's some story about a really great long throw that went back to the keeper or some non-event like that. He's an irritating awful analyst, who regularly gets things blatantly wrong and always says "Now I've been known to get most things right" etc. I'm delighted. Good...no - great riddance.

mayordenis

i must say though that i do hate rodney marsh and im glad that i dont have to listen to him anymore the joke was very bad, but getting sacked was over the top, maybe they just wanted any reason to sack him though cause he is rubbish.

eirebhoy

In a shock move today, Real Madrid's English hero, David Beckham turned down a move to North East underdogs Newcastle United.

A fee of £18 million was agreed for the former Manchester United man, but Beckham was reported to have said there was no way he could leave Real for Newcastle after what the Toon Army (Tsunami) had done to Thailand and surrounding area.

Extremely harsh decision and just shows how much political correctness has taken over. Its doing absolutely nothing more than slagging off Beckham. Even Newstalk were afraid to say the joke on air after Marsh getting sacked, they would have said it last week no doubt.

MrJoeSoap

Thank fcuk he is finally gone. The joke wasn't bad, certainly not a sackable offence in my books, but the guy is the most unbelievable muppet I have ever come across. He hasnt got a clue, and from his major list of goofs I quote him last Saturday morning before the Southampton and Liverpool game:

'It has to be kick bollock and bite all the way for the Saints and if they are going to get three points, they will have to do it the ugly way...'

Yes Rodney, they sure did, didn't they?

Wigan fans don't like him, along with every other team outside the Premiership top 4...

johnor

I liked marsh thought he was funny and gave good strong opinions....
shame he made the joke, it may not have been that bad but you cant get away with any kind of comment like that. Sky must have been flooded with emails or telephone calls for them to have sacked him......

eirebhoy

johnor wrote:

shame he made the joke, it may not have been that bad but you cant get away with any kind of comment like that. Sky must have been flooded with emails or telephone calls for them to have sacked him......

I honestly don't see why not, you would have a few years ago. BTW, to make it look even more harsh, The Manic Street Preachers have a song called Tsunami which the Newcastle fans changed into a chant about the Toon Army. That's were the idea of the joke came.

johnor

Aye, it is a topic that people feel very trongly about you need only look at the amount of money that has being collected and is still being donated by people. I mean i realise the context of the joke I think that it may have still been too fresh in peoples minds. If you look at most other tv interviews with celebrities or whoever else they are urge people to give generously etc. I think people just found this a bit of a shock to the system maybe i dunno

galactus

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Wigan fans don't like him, along with every other team outside the Premiership top 4...

Or Bradford fans. Remember when he had to get his head shaved.

I won't miss his interupting other people on a Sky Sports Saturday either. Good riddance Rodney.

eirebhoy

Maybe it looks like he's making light heart of the disaster but still harsh. I've yet to find anyone mention Thailand or even the Tsunami in reply to the joke.

http://forums.babblers.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=23820&st=0
http://www.webuser.co.uk/cgi-bin/forums/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=openforum&Number=152301&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=93&part=
http://www.freelancers.net/show_forum/20050121/146780.html
http://www.gazzetta.us/
http://www.laughfc.co.uk/stories/story.php?id=814
http://212.67.202.205/~delays2/phorum-3.4.8/read.php?f=4&i=50134&t=50134

BolBill

galactus wrote:

Or Bradford fans. Remember when he had to get his head shaved.

I won't miss his interupting other people on a Sky Sports Saturday either. Good riddance Rodney.

Totally agree, he is a brutal pundit, delighted I won't have to listen to him anymore. He just talked complete cack all the time. Him and Big Ron can stay away from my ear drums FOREVER

enda_4

BolBill wrote:

Totally agree, he is a brutal pundit, delighted I won't have to listen to him anymore. He just talked complete cack all the time. Him and Big Ron can stay away from my ear drums FOREVER

As annoying as he was, must say i'll miss him making a total plonk of himself every saturday morning with those wonderfully ridiculous comments of his

BolBill

enda_4 wrote:

As annoying as he was, must say i'll miss him making a total plonk of himself every saturday morning with those wonderfully ridiculous comments of his

But enda he was there to be a pundit, a job he couldn't manage, all he was was a joke, a bit like Big Ron ("I don't know what I did wrong") Atkinson.

The Rooster

While I cant argue with most of the comments above on Rodney Marsh as a pundit, I'll still miss him. I found him very entertaining and was always guaranteed to generate a few laughs on the Saturday afternoon show.

The Muppet

eirebhoy wrote:

I honestly don't see why not, you would have a few years ago. BTW, to make it look even more harsh, The Manic Street Preachers have a song called Tsunami which the Newcastle fans changed into a chant about the Toon Army. That's were the idea of the joke came.

There is absolutly no way you would get away with telling that joke on any mainstream broadcast either here or in the UK. Rodney marsh is an experiencd Broadcaster and should have know better.

A few years ago that "joke" would never have been broadcast . How can anyone be so insitive to tell a "joke" referencing such a disaster especially so soon after the event. I saw the joke when it appeard here and I though the it was very bad taste .

galactus

The Rooster wrote:

While I cant argue with most of the comments above on Rodney Marsh as a pundit, I'll still miss him. I found him very entertaining and was always guaranteed to generate a few laughs on the Saturday afternoon show.

No doubt Sky have started their search for a new village idiot.

EKRIUQ

I won't miss Rodney as a pundit but his sacking was a bit harsh and you can't compare his joke with what big ron said. I read that joke on the humour board and saw it as a joke as how thick DB is

eirebhoy

The Muppet wrote:

There is absolutly no way you would get away with telling that joke on any mainstream broadcast either here or in the UK. Rodney marsh is an experiencd Broadcaster and should have know better.

A few years ago that "joke" would never have been broadcast . How can anyone be so insitive to tell a "joke" referencing such a disaster especially so soon after the event. I saw the joke when it appeard here and I though the it was very bad taste .

I can't believe someone thinks this is offensive towards anyone but Beckham. What he basically got sacked for is laughing while mentioning the Asian disaster, if anyone thinks its otherwise please tell me why. Paste the following into google and tell me how the offense of either joke differ:
"to think that right here used to be the Twin Towers"

radiospan

I wish Andy Grey had said it.

galactus

plazzTT wrote:

I wish Andy Grey had said it.

Or Emelyn Hughes. On second thoughts isn't he dead.

_blank_

galactus wrote:

Or Emelyn Hughes. On second thoughts isn't he dead.

:eek:

You're sacked.

Was a harsh decision to sack Marsh, but he is a complete joke himself anyway.

And it seems the Sky Website has gone all "Nineteen Eighty Four" on him. It's as if he never existed. That has to hurt.

BolBill

galactus wrote:

No doubt Sky have started their search for a new village idiot.

No they won't , they've got Phil "Liverpool football Club" Thompson, try say Liverpool without saying Football club Tonker !!!!!!!!!!

dirkey_wynne

The Muppet wrote:

There is absolutly no way you would get away with telling that joke on any mainstream broadcast either here or in the UK. Rodney marsh is an experiencd Broadcaster and should have know better.

A few years ago that "joke" would never have been broadcast . How can anyone be so insitive to tell a "joke" referencing such a disaster especially so soon after the event. I saw the joke when it appeard here and I though the it was very bad taste .

I know a person in the office here who was offended also. I don't see how it's offensive, personally. Is it making fun of the victims? No, it's making fun of Beckham. Just my personal opinion.

Ardent

dirkey_wynne wrote:

I know a person in the office here who was offended also. I don't see how it's offensive, personally. Is it making fun of the victims? No, it's making fun of Beckham. Just my personal opinion.

Ditto. Stunned to learn this morning that he was sacked over this. They must have wanted him out before this.

yop

Bit of a daft comment, very irresponsible, to a lot of people they would laugh it off but there are people who were directly affected by these events and he should have the cop onto realise it.
He was alright of a commentator but his "oh ayes" etc would wreck your head alright

The Muppet

eirebhoy wrote:

I can't believe someone thinks this is offensive towards anyone but Beckham. What he basically got sacked for is laughing while mentioning the Asian disaster, if anyone thinks its otherwise please tell me why. Paste the following into google and tell me how the offense of either joke differ:
"to think that right here used to be the Twin Towers"

You should get yourself a copy of the broadcast complaints commission annual report and really amaze yourself at the petty things people go to greath lengths to complain against.

I would Imagine Sky was inundated with complaints about Rodneys comments. As an experienced broadcaster he should have known he was crossing the line.

bizmark

Political correncess rubbish bitching and whinning about any small little comment that might be offensive christ sake isnt it writen in the law that we have a right to free speech? free speech means free speech not free speech as long as it wont offend other wise its not free speech.

Big Ears

enda_4 wrote:

Must say i'll miss him making a total plonk of himself every saturday morning with those wonderfully ridiculous comments of his .

Ya , anyone remember the time when he talked about how West Brom won't stay up the way their going , he divided the numder of points by the games they had played and then multiplied by 38 , failing to realise every side would be in the same position .

Chucky the tree

disgrace he was sacked over this. i hope all the people that complained about the joke die. People who are that thick and stupid dont deserve to live i think.

He was a great pundit to laugh at, who gonna replace him? tony cottee? He was the best laugh on the show.

mike65

Anyone fancy starting a Bring Back Rodders campiagn and sending Sky the e-mails?

Meanwhile If I'd meant English I'd type that!

Mike.

Chucky the tree

mike65 wrote:

Anyone fancy starting a Bring Back Rodders campiagn and sending Sky the e-mails?


Mike.

i was actually hoping someone would do that, or a petition already going. if someone gets one going i will certainly fire an email in there direction.

mike65

http://www.petitiononline.com/create_petition.html

Mike.

Dewey

I was shocked last night when i heard Marsh had been sacked for tell that joke. This joke was posted here the other day and i thought it was funny, the joke is aimed at David Beckham. it just happens to mention the Asian disaster. ok, Marsh maybe shouldnt of said the joke on live tv but there is no way he deserves the sack for that.
I always found Marsh entertaining and i think he is a big loss to sky. I think sky should of given him a warning. Dunphy has turned up for RTE drunk, and sweared on live tv, and wore the colours of another nation and he is still working there.

yop

" i hope all the people that complained about the joke die. People who are that thick and stupid dont deserve to live i think"


I presume you are pulling the pi*S with this post

Thanx 4 The Fish

He got what he deserved. Alot of people lost family, frinds and colleagues and somebody who is paid to talk on television should have the good sense to realise that there are some things that you just don't do.

A Dub in Glasgo

Chucky the tree wrote:

disgrace he was sacked over this. i hope all the people that complained about the joke die. People who are that thick and stupid dont deserve to live i think.

The most scary thing about this whole episode is the fact that I think you are actually serious above. You need to get some perspective into your life :eek:

galactus

Football365 have touted Chris Kamara as a possible replacement. Dear God in heaven, no.

eirebhoy

galactus wrote:

Football365 have touted Chris Kamara as a possible replacement. Dear God in heaven, no.

Replacement for what? Soccer Saturday?

galactus

"One possible danger is that with Marsh gone we will have to endure even more of Chris Kamara.The prospect of spending a couple of hours in the company of Chris was a strong disincentive to watching the first of the Carling Cup semi-final games"

http://www.football365.com/opinion/f365_opinion/story_141499.shtml

Ardent

I think this article sums up pretty much why he had to go:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/goodplaya2/jan05.html#260105a

Chong

plazzTT wrote:

I wish Andy Grey had said it.

Well said gray is the most annoying person to listen whilst watching football.

galactus

Willem D wrote:

Well said gray is the most annoying person to listen whilst watching football.

Yehcannaebeserious!

Chong

Yehcanbeserious, no I really mean I have had it up to my eyeballs, with him. His main role is, along with those muppets on SkySportsNews is to bring the game in to disrepute. I know I sound like an F.A spokesman but its true, if you watched the match last night for example, just before the match began Sky got a pre game view on the game for the commentators namely Rob Hawthorne and that scotch know it all Andy Gray. The last thing he said was that lets hope the referee dosen't ruin this game.

Plain and simple its the nature of the game of football, the ref may have a bad game, thats football. A number of descisions may have not been made or fouls seen thats football, there is no to harp on about incident after incident narrated by Andy Gray.

Sky and their bunch of muppets ruin the game, their is way too much over analysis.
Also just while I am here let me just say I hate Charlie Nichols because that man ruined Bertie Vogts career no matter bad he did. Two obnoxious tits together.

Bateman

Bertie Vogts is an adult, if he can't take criticism for the terrible results he produced, on the money he was on, then it was right that he f*cked off, Nicholas or no Nicholas.

Soccer Saturday will be a lot less interesting without Marsh, he should never have been sacked.

eirebhoy

Ardent wrote:

I think this article sums up pretty much why he had to go:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/goodplaya2/jan05.html#260105a

It actually says this in the article:
And make no mistake: word will have got back to Asia that he was publicly joking about last month's Tsunami disaster.

Joking about the Tsunami disaster? "Your 'aving a laugh".

Bateman

eirebhoy wrote:

It actually says this in the article:
And make no mistake: word will have got back to Asia that he was publicly joking about last month's Tsunami disaster.

Its a joke about Beckham that just happens to mention the Asian disaster. It could have been any tsunami. There are two ways of looking at it, the vast majority of us wouldn't have looked at it the way they see it in that article when we heard it first and Marsh probably didn't think of it in the way the article see it. Its only after Marsh got sacked that we see the two sides to the joke.

It's just typical of the type of language used by the P.C. moral guardians.