Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has refused to apologize after being accused of casual sexism for saying “good girl” to BBC reporter Jane Lewis.
Speaking on Tuesday for the first time since his brief interview with Lewis, for which he was branded a “dinosaur”, Rodgers revealed that he spoke to the journalist and blamed society for the reaction.
He said: “I spoke to Jane and she wasn’t offended, we had a laugh about it.” I’m sure she will continue to ask me awkward questions, but I see her every week. We have good relationships, like I have with most of the people in my life, whether professional or social.
“So I find it sadder than anything else, I’m not that kind of person, it’s not about who I am or how I’m built. But unfortunately for today’s society, people just look and try to find ways to tear you down. somehow if they can, and that is not pleasant.”
On Tuesday, Lewis, 53, also broke his silence, saying: “Clearly Sunday’s interview has become a topic of conversation.” I don’t think Brendan Rodgers meant any offense to anyone… and, for my part, no offense was committed.
Brendan Rodgers (left) was accused of casual sexism after saying “good girl” to BBC reporter Jane Lewis following a brief exchange after Celtic’s victory over Motherwell.
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Rodgers, 51, added that she reiterated that she did not feel guilty and did not directly address the “good girl” comment.
“Obviously, I think it’s sad for me now in society, where people look for something that’s offensive to try to attribute to people,” he continued.
‘You guys up here, any journalist or reporter, I have always based my life on relationships, so I have always offered warmth, respect, being courteous and offering time to people. That will never change.
‘Obviously, when there was something out there, or something big, whatever, then I feel the need to address that. I deal with people in life, whether it’s players, who want me to improve, people in the media.’
Only one question about the incident was allowed in the broadcast section of the press conference and other journalists were then prevented from that line of questioning, saying it was “a football press conference”.
Rodgers also wanted to point out a recent example of using a woman as inspiration for his Celtic players.
He said: “The irony of all this is, and I shared this with the players not long ago, that the story of Jessica Watson, who was a 16-year-old girl, who traveled around the world alone on a boat and the documentary that I saw was really inspiring. ‘True Spirit’, it was called and I shared it with the players in terms of the inspiration they could take from a young woman like that, what she had gone through.
Campaigners from For Women Scotland accused the Celtic boss of “casual sexism” after he made the “good girl” comment to Lewis following a terse exchange in the interview following Celtic’s win over Motherwell on Sunday.
Rodgers looked relaxed and happy while training with Celtic on Tuesday afternoon.
In video of the exchange, since posted by the BBC on TikTok, Rodgers appeared to pat Lewis after her “good girl” comment, before walking away to abruptly end the interview.
Lewis, 53, had asked Rodgers to explain himself after he told him: “In terms of the title race, history has already been written about this group, but we will write our own history.” When she asked him to elaborate, he seemed unhappy with her line of questioning and said, “No, no, you know exactly what I mean.”
Lewis again pressed Rodgers to explain, but he appeared to end the interview and said: “Done, good girl, well done.”
For Women Scotland campaigners called on Rodgers to apologise.
A spokeswoman said: “It is depressing that casual sexism is still entrenched in sport. Women’s achievements are undervalued and dismissed and their professional status is undermined. “Rodgers owes the journalist an apology.
Meanwhile, former Hibs player Tam McManus described Rodgers’ comments as “absolutely disgraceful” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Feminist Network said: “Jane Lewis was simply doing her job, trying to get an explanation from Brendan Rodgers about her cryptic comment. That the preferred attitude was condescension is quite illuminating, but very depressing indeed in 2024.
“We thought dinosaurs were extinct.”
And legendary broadcaster Jeff Stelling was left horrified by the Celtic manager’s “good girl” comment.
Speaking on talkSPORT, she said: ‘Good girl, good girl? Oh my god, Brendan. What does it mean?’
Others downplayed the exchange, with Eamon Holmes saying on GB News: “He meant the good girl.” Brendan Rodgers is from Carnock in Northern Ireland. We say “good girl” all the time. He berates us for it all the time because he’s not a contemporary.
“I can honestly tell you that Northern Irish people will say ‘good girl, good boy, good boy.’
Experienced broadcaster Lewis, who has previously worked for Sky News, Sky Sports, Eurosport and STV’s Scotland Today programme, came under fire from social media trolls after Sunday’s exchange.
There was a lot of support for Lewis on social media following Rodgers’ comment.
Lewis has covered major sporting events including the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow and on Australia’s Gold Coast.
He reports on European and World Cup qualifiers with the Scotland national football team, as well as covering Scottish national football and European matches involving their clubs.
Lewis previously defended himself against criticism from Celtic fans. In December 2021, he was presenting Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland when Celtic won in the 97th minute at Ross County.
This led to a mass invasion of the pitch by Celtic fans, with those on social media opining that Lewis was upset by the crucial late winner and the reaction.
Lewis tweeted at the time: “I’m a little baffled that some seem to enjoy my ‘apparent pain’ more than their team winning a football game.”
‘Just for the record, I’m not ‘uneasy’, ‘hurt’, ‘bitter’ or ‘deflated’…’
Rodgers is under pressure amid a tight title race with arch-rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers beat Hearts 5-0 on Saturday to move five points clear of Celtic at the top, but their late goals at Motherwell reduced the gap to two points.
