Weekly Hit & Miss

Every Monday we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.

HIT – ODISHA FC

The way that players and managers react when facing the media after a close-fought defeat can often speak volumes about their character. 

While players tend to be kept out of the firing line after a disappointing performance, managers are ill-afforded the same luxury and without wanting to damage team morale, can often put the blame on external factors, with referees invariably bearing the brunt of these rants.

Many managers have made statements in the heat of the moment that they later come to regret, but few have lost the plot quite as much as 67-year-old British coach Stuart Baxter.

Despite having over 35 years of managerial experience, Baxter made a deeply offensive comment in the aftermath of Odisha’s 1-0 defeat against Jamshedpur in the Indian Super League (ISL).

“You need decisions to go your way and they didn’t,” he said in an interview on India’s Star Sports television. “I don’t know when we’re going to get a penalty. I think one of my players would have to rape someone or get raped himself if he was going to get a penalty.”

While Baxter’s comments a failure to grasp what is acceptable or unacceptable language, the Odisha board should be praised for taking swift action, saying they were “appalled” by the comments and announcing his sacking.

“Odisha FC has decided to terminate head coach Stuart Baxter’s contract with immediate effect,” the club said in a tweet. “The interim coach for the remainder of the season will be announced soon.”

A further tweet from the club said: “The Club is appalled at the comments made by Head Coach, Stuart Baxter during the post-match interview today. It is completely unacceptable whatever the context and does not reflect the values of the club. We, at Odisha FC, unreservedly apologize and the club management will handle this matter internally.”

While some may argue Baxter gave the club little choice other than to act decisively given the nature of his comments, Odisha wasted little time in fronting up to the global press and showing an appreciation for the gravity of the situation, something that is always critical during a crisis.

"The comments were totally unacceptable, irrespective of whether it is football or any other industry,” said club president Raj Athwal in an interview with Sky Sports News.

"It's very important in today's climate that we set a good example, the right example, and the comments were certainly not in keeping with our values and our philosophy.

"We are a very inclusive football club and as a result we had to take decisive and immediate action."

Athwal became the first British Indian to take up a presidential role since the inception of the ISL, and Baxter’s comments come less than a month into his tenure.

"In 26 years of working in football, I've never had to deal with a situation such as this," Athwal commented.

"I've worked in all of the English leagues, most of the Scottish leagues and I'm no stranger to making difficult decisions, which is why I was brought into Odisha Football Club.

"We will not shy away from our responsibilities and we feel under the circumstances, we feel we have taken the right, appropriate and only course of action."

As for Baxter, such is the reputational damage that he has caused to not only himself but also Odisha and the ISL as a whole, it remains to be seen whether any club will want to be associated with him or if this will prove to be his last job in the game.

MISS – YOSHIRO MORI

The discussion around gender equality among athletes, coaches, officials, and sports administrators across the globe has been a major talking point for as long as we can remember.

While many positive steps have been taken, as we’ve seen in recent months on this blog, there is still an awful long way to go.

From Idaho lawmakers blocking transgender women competing in sport, to Leeds United prompting mass online abuse of a female pundit, and golfer Justin Thomas uttering a homophobic slur, it seems a great deal of education is still required.

This week’s individual showing a complete disregard for women was none other than the head of the Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee.

Yoshiro Mori, 83, made a series of derogatory comments that have led to many calling for his resignation.

“If we increase the number of female board members, we have to make sure their speaking time is restricted somewhat, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying," Mori was quoted as saying by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

"We have about seven women at the organising committee but everyone understands their place," he said.

Mori, who was prime minister of Japan in 2000-01, is well known in the country for a series of undiplomatic statements he made while in office, but despite later retracting the comments, has said he is not planning to resign.

Having worked at the highest level of politics and understanding the importance of his language, Mori’s comments were simply inexcusable and prompted the hashtag "Mori, please resign" to trend on Twitter in Japan.

This isn’t the first time that Japan has been at the centre of a sexism row surrounding the Olympic Games, with Kasumigaseki Country Club threatened with the loss of its status as the venue for Tokyo 2020’s golf event back in 2017 after previously failing to grant women full membership rights.

The private club required three briefings for its members before it decided to fully admit women, which required unanimous approval from the board, made up of 15 men.

Ironically, the move led to Mori praising the club at the time for voting to uphold the spirit of the Olympic charter of non-discrimination.

He revealed that he had offered his resignation but was told old that the International Olympic Committee and government officials would be concerned if he quit, he reversed his position.

More than 110,000 people have signed a petition calling for action to be taken against Mori after he made controversial comments about women.

The debate about his position will rumble on, but while individuals in high-profile boardroom roles continue to share similar views, the pursuit of gender equality will remain an uphill battle.