Kellie Harrington. Was she hung out to dry or did she hang herself out to dry?

evolvingtipperary101

Kellie Harrington deleted a tweet on immigration back in October. She was questioned on it here:

https://twitter.com/offtheball/status/1640383179814215682?s=20

She released a statement after the interview here:

https://twitter.com/Kelly64kg/status/1640475577156083722?s=20

Is this someone from a working class background, without a third-class education based on middle-class culture/values and its language, being used for clout in the media? Is this a boxer being asked to address issues beyond their station? Has Kellie Harrington as an Irish ambassador, funded by tax payers money (massively underfunded to my limited knowledge), and an ambassador to local communities under this Spar sponsorship (they're using her face and achievements to launch something) got to answer for her tweet rather than say no comment?

Thelonious Monk

why did she tweet basically insinuating that immigrants are likely to be murderers? she's a brand ambassador for spar, every spar in ireland probably has immigrants working for them. she could have said something like it was a heat of the moment tweet due to the horrific crime and i deleted it aftewardsa. instead she rolls her eyes and says she stopped listening at diversity. just a dopey move on her part by all accounts, she brought this on herself.

ec18

Whatever her opinion I think there's too much expected of sports people in general to be fully up to day and paying attention to all the rights and wrongs of politics and society. Just let her be a boxer and leave it at that. Michael Jordan famously never got involved in anything other basketball talk (albeit for commercial reasons) maybe we should stop expecting more of sports people than just being pros

also OTB are really going down the clickbait route

TheWonderLlama

Has she tried not being a racist?

Should we all be racist now? What's the Church's position? I'm so busy down on the farm I won't have much time for the ol' racism.

magicbastarder

i haven't seen the interview, but understand there was a PR person in the background clearly audible at times?

if she has a PR person, why wasn't she better briefed about how to handle questions about that?

Deeec

I think everyone is entitled to their opinions and shouldn't be judged. She is a sportsperson not a politician. This shouldn't have been bought up in the interview. He should have moved on quickly.

It was difficult watching that interview - he was out of order.

Xander10

Her response reminded me of another boxer when asked about his friendship with Daniel Kinahan.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410220#Comment_120410220

Oh, I'm happy to judge someone based on their opinion.

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410296#Comment_120410296

The mistake she made was posting her opinions - big mistake when you are a public figure.

She never went on that show to discuss immigration and it shouldn't have been bought up. He definitely hung her out to dry!

jarrybutt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410190#Comment_120410190

Do you think it's not possible for immigrants to pose higher risks than natives?

Of the highest profile murders in the last couple of years, the perpetrator was an immigrant. (Aisling Murphy, Sligo murders)

It's head scratching that people don't think that people who come from countries where there's high crime, poor treatment of women would pose a higher risk.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410331#Comment_120410331

it's a f**king stupid thing to say immigrants pose a higher risk, never mind tweet about it as a high profile person. the word immigrant describes a huge spectrum of people in ireland. you wouldn't say a similar thing like black people pose a higher risk, because it's braindead.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410314#Comment_120410314

he handled it very professionally and gave her ample opportunity to respond to the incident properly, couldn't have done a better job in my opinion.

she may never get another sponsorship now and it's entirely her own fault whether you think the wokeratti nazis are too harsh on her or not, she made her own bed.

89897

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410220#Comment_120410220

Everyone is entitled to an opinion but when someone in the public puts and moreso a brand ambassador for a community company puts an opinion out like that they have every right to be judged and questioned as do the company they are ambassador for!

She handled that terribly, "you lost me at diversity" it just an awful response. I do feel like whoever that PR person was should have had her prepared for the interview. The following statement and apology is not never going to be taken as sincere given the timing of it.

If she wants to be a sportsperson and that alone then she needs to keep away from these things.

enricoh

The twitterati will have a field day on this. There's the trial coming up of the two gay lads beheaded in sligo - there won't be a peep out of them over that.

Rte looking at signing the interviewer as I type!

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410368#Comment_120410368

No he didn't handle the interview professionally at all! He was peddling his own agenda career wise and trying to make himself appear woke. She wasn't doing the interview to discuss immigration.

Yep he has damaged Katie's sponsorship deal and public profile. The idiot also damaged his own career though - media companies won't be lining up to employ him either!

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410392#Comment_120410392

what do you want the twitterati to say about those murders? that islamic fundamentalist lunatics are bad news? don't we all agree on that?

Donald Trump

Who is the beardy gobshite with the laptop and the mic? Does he have many Olympic medals himself?

jarrybutt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410352#Comment_120410352

Do you have any stats to prove immigrants don't pose a higher risk?

It would seem to me when watching news that immigrants are over represented in serious crimes like murders, stabbings, rapes, sexual assaults.

Amirani

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410396#Comment_120410396

I don't think you understand how the media or "media companies" work to be honest.

He absolutely conducted the interview professionally, which seems to be the consensus from any journalist I've seen discuss it. As correctly pointed out by Dan McDonnell, this wasn't a "boxing interview", this was a brand ambassador interview, and her previous tweet was in clear clonflict with the tagline for the event. To not ask the question would have been poor interviewing.

elefant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410396#Comment_120410396

She was being paid by Spar to do an interview promoting positive change and impact in communities. It's probably fair, and not too taxing, to ask if it remains her opinion that immigration has a dangerous impact on communities.

FrancieBrady

She deleted the tweet almost immediately, because she felt it came across wrongly, fair enough.

The 'journalist' in an interview about her sport, decided to ambush her about something she regretted doing, and she clearly states this is how she felt.

A decent media outlet wouldn't have broadcast the clip.

I know which one came out of this with some integrity and it isn't the journo.

jarrybutt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410432#Comment_120410432

I'm sure Spar were aware of the tweets and if they had concerns, would have discussed it with Kellie.

What was Hannon trying to do then?

It's a high bar for Hannon to keep now. Lots of hypocrisy on off the ball, such as they go on and on about the gambling issues yet have gambling sponsors for the show and give major air time to a sport that wouldn't be a sport without gambling.

bucketybuck

I'm no fan of Harrington but I listened to the first 2 minutes of the clip in the OP and the interviewer can go **** himself. She is right, she went on a sports talk show and the little prick decided to make a bollocks out of her.

Fuck him and all the sanctimonious weasels that will try to justify his bullshit.

DownByTheGarden

I think all people should just give up tweeting. Theres always someone waiting to jump on you no matter what you say or what you even meant to say but garbled the words. Used to be a time when you would say something, it would come out arsways and you take a breath and try and say it again.

Now you type anything and its pounced on. Just dont tweet or give your opinions with your name attached to it.

sheriff2

Not hung out to dry, but i think she panicked and taught however she answers will be reflected badly.

I honestly think this has been blown out of proportion, and is one of the worst "going after" of someone I can remember over nothing. Now shes being branded a big racist.

Regarding the deleted tweet wasnt it about a girl murdered in France, was it factual?

Deeec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410432#Comment_120410432

Oh no I do understand media and his bosses will not be happy with how behaved in that interview.

He should have dropped the line of questioning when he seen she was uncomfortable. Trust me he flunked his career despite what other journalists mates are saying.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410506#Comment_120410506

Ok, show us another sports person on the OTB site being harrassed about deleted tweets?

jarrybutt

Kellie should have turned it around and said why does Hannon work for a show that talks about gambling addictions and issues yet is sponsored by gambling companies and gives so much air time to a sport that wouldn't be a sport only for gambling.

Furze99

Why the surprise at this? People who box aren't exactly known to be the brightest sparks. You don't expect them to be founts of wisdom, just to knock the crap out of each other.

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410548#Comment_120410548

She clearly told him, she didn't want to get into it and was unprepared, he continued to pursue it = harrassment. A decent journalist would have stopped, had an off camera discussion and gone from there.

But the click bait value won out in the end as it unfortunately always does.

Can you show any other sportsperson on the OTB site being treated the same over a deleted tweet?

Deeec

He's on newstalk now trying to justify himself

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410548#Comment_120410548

Its only an open goal if she knows its coming, when the fact is that he brought it up out of absolutely nowhere in the middle of what was probably supposed to be a generic promotional chat.

Its really **** obvious from the reaction that her first thought wasn't about any answer, but about the fact that the prick had asked the question at all. And that is totally understandable, any normal person would be pissed off about that.

Lesson here folks, don't achieve anything or stick your head above the parapet, there is always some sanctimonious twat that will be looking to take a shot.

evolvingtipperary101

Look at Gavan Reilly's tweet on this thread...

Shane Hannon on Twitter: "This chat with Kellie Harrington is worth your time. #OTBAM | @offtheball https://t.co/hcpys0kJTT" / Twitter

Sono Topolino

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410220#Comment_120410220

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but equally everyone is entitled to judge everyone else for their opinion. "Freedom of speech" principles only protect you from criminal liability.

Drifter100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410368#Comment_120410368

I guess you work in Media,he was being a complete plonker putting Kellie on the spot like that. She is a BOXER not a politician and has achieved more in her life that a XXXX with a microphone and a laptop like him ever will. Very poor journalism from OTB and I am really disappointed in them. There are 4 mins here of him asking the same question and in the end he just cut her off because he did`nt his own way. Very childish and immature.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410618#Comment_120410618

If I get blindsided by some pious little prick the last thing I am going to do is justify myself. Why should I, why validate him and his odious intentions?

Typical twitter verse nonsense from shallow gobshites, always looking to cut the legs of somebody. "Deleted tweet from last year", great stuff, lets go for the **** throat, act high and mighty for an hour and then move on to the next one.

To bring back an old saying, when the revolution comes these sanctimonious **** will be first against the wall.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410635#Comment_120410635

lots of boxers have had very political views throughout the years and have been questioned about them

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410651#Comment_120410651

lol chill out man

xxyyzz

I don't know the background to this other than she posted the tweet back in October and subsequently deleted it and apologised.

Did the OTB presenter blindside her with this out of the blue or had there been other discussion about the tweet in recent weeks?

TheWonderLlama

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410415#Comment_120410415

you should stop watching gript or GBnews.

CGI_Livia_Soprano

I'm surprised to see so many people defending her. It wasn't simply an interview on a sports show: she was there as an ambassador for Spar launching a community fund. How can she be a pro-community ambassador while she has a history of denigrating immigrants? There are immigrants in every corner of our community, many of them working for Spar. He had every right to question her about it.

Obviously she handled it incredibly poorly. I lost a lot of respect for her when I saw the orginal tweet way back in October, I have lost all respect for her now. It just goes to show that winning an Olympic medal and being a great boxer does not make you a good person.

jarrybutt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410698#Comment_120410698

RTE all the way baby

FrancieBrady

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410618#Comment_120410618

She deleted the tweet immediately as it wasn't representative of her views.

Did you find another sportsperson treated the same way on OTB?

evolvingtipperary101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410701#Comment_120410701

A history? Does one tweet qualify as a history? Or is there something I don't know?

CGI_Livia_Soprano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410715#Comment_120410715

Yes it does. It happened so it’s history.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410190#Comment_120410190

Look at it from her perspective, she saw a murdered child and tweeted about it , she wasn’t informed enough to know what she was getting into. Not everyone is in fact .

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410552#Comment_120410552

i could start listing intelligent boxers but why should I when it’s the post that’s ignorant

squidgainz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410220#Comment_120410220

Eh what else do you judge people on? Their looks?

evolvingtipperary101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410720#Comment_120410720

No, no. A history is something long and drawn out. The connotation is this is not the first time and it's happened many times. You have to careful what you're suggesting with a word like that.

jarrybutt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410610#Comment_120410610

An absolutely disgusting comment from a hack who has gone downhill and is addicted to the adoration of his twitter followers.

To make that comment, when it was the mutilation of a girl by an illegal immigrant that was the topic of Harringtons original tweets, is despicable.

evolvingtipperary101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120410736#Comment_120410736

He edited I think. One other tweeter said, he had originally posted an axe or machete emoji and changed it to clapping hands.

Absolutely tasteless.