David Gower has blasted broadcasting bosses for their treatment of David Lloyd - insisting 'Bumble' should "still be on the airwaves".
Lloyd, a much-loved cricket commentator and pundit, spent 22 years entertaining audiences on Sky Sports before his time with the broadcaster came to a bitter end last year. The 75-year-old, known as Bumble, left his position after becoming embroiled in the racism scandal that engulfed English cricket.
He had been accused by Yorkshire whistleblower Azeem Rafiq of being a 'closet racist' due to attempts to 'smear him' by discrediting racism allegations in private text messages sent to a colleague. Lloyd immediately apologised to Rafiq, and announced his own departure from Sky without mentioning the broadcaster's probe into the private messages. He has since not been heard behind the mic on a mainstream platform.
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And Gower, who signed off himself three years ago after 25 years leading Sky's cricket coverage, has suggested that his former employers betrayed his former England teammate by letting him go.
"Bumble could and should still be on the airwaves. He was badly betrayed. You know who you are...," Gower said on Twitter, replying to a fan questioning the Lancastrian's television absence. Lloyd replied with a love-heart emoji, seemingly endorsing Gower's claim.
"My race has been run with Sky and there will be certain things I will miss after being involved in commentary across five decades," Lloyd told the Daily Mail regarding his departure.
"Having fun and just being myself for a start. I know I've gone to the edge at times and used to be encouraged to do so. Our coverage used to be rock and roll, we were told to take risks.
"Now they have clawed things right back and it's absolutely taboo to say anything that can be misinterpreted. There can be no innuendo. One word out of place now and you will spend your life apologising for it. Therefore, it makes me chuckle that Andrew Strauss was knighted for calling Kevin Pietersen a c**t on air a decade ago, and now gets to select the England team!"
Former England skipper Gower had already made his feelings clear on the manner of Bumble's departure. "Yes, it’s right to investigate if someone has said or done something that is out of order," he told the Daily Mail last December.
"And, yes, it’s right to correct that, bring people to book and hold them accountable. But there are limits. One of the things that strikes me now is that we are all having to be so very careful to say anything to anyone under any circumstances, just in case someone somewhere perceives one or two words to be out of place."
He continued: "I personally see a difference between things said in confidence and things said in public. At best, it’s bemusing. At worst, it’s frightening.
"If it takes one word out of place, then absolutely no one in the entire western world would still be in a job. At no stage am I trying to condone anything that is egregiously or even vaguely racist. But balance is all. Surely a heartfelt apology is a step in the right direction."
