Of one mind

As discussed on the Open Thread, the controversial BBC risked rousing racial tensions on BBC Two the other day, during the women's football:

I'm sorry, what? There's a problem with the England women's team in the #WEUROS2022 being too "white"? Which players should be dropped because they have the wrong skin colour?

Just extraordinary that a BBC presenter can say this and still be in her job!
pic.twitter.com/PBpOC8tMhs

— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) July 14, 2022

“All starting 11 players and five substitutes who came onto the pitch were white, and that does point towards a lack of diversity in the women’s game in England,” said the BBC's Eilidh Barbour.

In fairness to Eilidh, she was introducing a report from BBC star pundit Alex Scott on the subject - a subject doubtless chosen by someone higher up the BBC food chain. Plus, given that she was seemingly reading from a script, she may not actually have written those words herself. So Julia might have been better saying, “Just extraordinary that someone at the BBC - whether it be the presenter herself or someone else - can write this and still be in his or her job!” 

Alex Scott's report, and the discussion that followed, worked from the assumption that all 16 players being white is serious problem. Not one person dissented from that position. It was a very BBC segment, from its introduction, through the report to the closing chat.