A prominent Dublin rugby club has reportedly stopped broadcaster George Hook from presenting a speech at its annual dinner over the weekend following opposition from some members of the club.
It was arranged that Hook, a leading rugby union pundit who formerly hosted the radio shows The Right Hook and High Noon on Newstalk, would give a speech at an annual dinner which took place in the club on Saturday, the Irish Independent reports.
However, reports have emerged that when some members of the Dublin rugby club heard of the scheduled speech they objected, allegedly as a result of his controversial comments regarding a rape case in the UK. His comments resulted in a suspension from Newstalk where he conducted a radio show.
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Hook hit out at the suspension at the time and subsequently complained of being cancelled and admitted that he was furious at the media backlash he received following his suspension, such as a comparison to Harvey Weinstein by one publication.
Rather than Hook, Old Belvedere club stalwart, Gerry Cruise, stepped in to give the after-dinner speech to the 200 or so members of the club present at the function.
When contacted by the Irish Mirror for comment on George Hook not presenting a speech, Old Belvedere responded that “the club has no comment to make on the matter.”
While the club has not commented, reports have emerged that there differing opinions from within the club about whether or not the former radio presenter should be given the opportunity to conduct the speech.
George Hook has yet to make a public comment on the decision to not allow him to present his speech over the weekend.
The speech was to take place prior to the Leinster Senior Cup match between Old Belvedere and St Michael’s which kicked off on Sunday. Old Belvedere lost by 19 points to five.
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