SBS says a sports presenter who made “highly inappropriate” comments about diggers was fired because audiences could no longer respect or trust him.
On Sunday the multicultural broadcaster sacked the football journalist Scott McIntyre for a series of tweets on Anzac Day that the communications minister, Malcolm Turnbull, described as “despicable”.
McIntyre began his tweets on the centenary of the Gallipoli landings by criticising what he said was the “cultification [sic] of an imperialist invasion”.
“Remembering the summary execution, widespread rape and theft committed by these brave Anzacs in Egypt, Palestine and Japan,” he said.
The managing director of SBS, Michael Ebeidc said the remarks were inappropriate and disrespectful, and that they breached the broadcaster’s code of conduct and social media policy.
“It’s not tenable to remain on air if your audience doesn’t respect or trust you,” he said.
Besides causing outrage on social media, the tweets also caught the eye of Turnbull, who said it was difficult to think of anything more offensive or inappropriate.
“Despicable remarks which deserve to be condemned,” he tweeted.
Turnbull was unavailable for comment after McIntyre’s sacking, but his Liberal colleague Jamie Briggs applauded the decision, saying the comments went beyond being offensive.
However, some criticised SBS for firing McIntyre, including journalist Hugh Riminton, who is also a board member of Soldier On, an organisation that supports injured soldiers.
Riminton said the tweets were untimely, immature and in one case offensively wrong.
“But lest we forget, our diggers also died for free speech,” he said.
The human rights commissioner, Tim Wilson, said McIntyre’s freedom of speech was not being curtailed.
“We’re talking about political interpretations of history and that is open for debate,” he said. “And he will be judged very harshly.”
Turnbull, who spent the day commemorating the Anzacs at several Sydney events, wrote a strong rebuke to McIntyre’s posts.
“Difficult to think of more offensive or inappropriate comments than those by @mcintinhos. Despicable remarks which deserve to be condemned,” Turnbull said.
Ebeid sought to distance the multicultural broadcaster from his employee’s comments.
“Comments from @mcintinhos are his own, disrespectful and not at all the views of @SBS. We remember and commemorate our ANZACs,” Ebeid said on Twitter. https://twitter.com/michaelebeid/status/591921395115823105
McIntyre is a prominent soccer reporter and commentator with 31,000 Twitter followers.
He has covered two Fifa World Cups and four Asian Cups and is described by SBS as “bringing unrivalled knowledge of the region’s complex football landscape”.
The comedian Merrick Watts was among detractors: “Today’s comments by @mcintinhos are as sad as they are ill informed. Gutless. Stupid. Disgraceful. I am truly furious.”
McIntyre had not deleted his tweets by Sunday morning and had favourited several which supported his views including one that said: “Good on you @mcintinhos for posting this. Usual twitter shit storm, as one would expect, from white Aussie bogans.”
Scott McIntyre’s tweets summarised
- The cultification of an imperialist invasion of a foreign nation that Australia had no quarrel with is against all ideals of modern society.
- Wonder if the poorly-read, largely white, nationalist drinkers and gamblers pause today to consider the horror that all mankind suffered.
- Remembering the summary execution, widespread rape and theft committed by these ‘brave’ Anzacs in Egypt, Palestine and Japan.
- Not forgetting that the largest single-day terrorist attacks in history were committed by this nation & their allies in Hiroshima & Nagasaki
- Innocent children, on the way to school, murdered. Their shadows seared into the concrete of Hiroshima.