Richard Keys has been forced to resign as a Sky Sports anchor after an attempt to apologise for his role in the broadcaster's sexism scandal appeared to backfire, when he made a live radio appearance.
After his long-standing colleague Andy Gray was fired by the broadcaster on Monday for "unacceptable behaviour", Keys's position had appeared untenable since the emergence of new evidence of his own sexist behaviour later the same night.
Amid fears that further leaked footage would emerge, he said that "going forward without Andy would have been almost impossible" as his resignation was accepted by Sky executives who had spent the day discussing his fate.
Keys had earlier appeared on TalkSport to explain his actions and answer his critics, issuing an unequivocal apology for his behaviour but also railing against the "dark forces" he suspected of leaking of the footage. "Our prehistoric banter is not acceptable in a modern world," he said. "We were wrong. It was wrong. It shouldn't have happened. I hope this starts the process of recovery and that everybody now can just step back and understand that you know these boorish and bullish guys understand the magnitude of what happened."
Keys, who has been the face of Sky's live football coverage for 20 years, criticised his employers for not allowing him to publicise the apology he made on Sunday to the assistant referee Sian Massey, which he said was accepted amid "a bit of banter". Keys also hit out at his critics in the press, accusing them of "double standards", and even Karren Brady, the West Ham vice-chair, for not picking up her phone to accept his apology at the weekend.
"I am deeply sorry for my remarks and the offence they have caused; it was wrong and should not have happened. I have thought long and hard and reached the decision that it is time to move on," Keys said.
The pair were originally dropped for one broadcast after they were recorded making sexist remarks off-air about Massey before the Premier League game between Wolves and Liverpool at the weekend. Further evidence then emerged of Gray making suggestive remarks to co-host Charlotte Jackson and Keys talking about an ex-girlfriend of Jamie Redknapp in deeply misogynist terms.
Gray, who has instructed lawyers over his sacking for "unacceptable behaviour", today also carefully apologised for and attempted to justify his part in the controversy. "I am very sorry that certain comments made by me have caused offence. Such comments were made off-air to work colleagues, and were, of course, never intended to be broadcast," he said. "Football is my life and I am devastated by losing the job that I love."
Keys said he was shocked by the "firestorm" caused by his comments but said he understood if they led to him also losing his job. Nor could he resist hitting back at his critics. The England captain, Rio Ferdinand, had labelled their views "prehistoric" but Keys said: "Are you telling me it doesn't take place in the Manchester United dressing room? My information is that it does."
He said Brady had refused to pick up the phone when he tried to call to apologise, claiming that it may have been a tactic to keep her club off the back pages.
Brady responded tonight: "Perhaps Richard thought I was too busy making the tea and washing up to take his call but a cursory glance at the weekend's newspapers or television would have made him well aware that I was heavily occupied with the West Ham and Newham Council Olympic Stadium bid."
"West Ham's future in the Olympic Stadium is of far more significance to me than his future. It is most unfortunate that he has chosen to add insult to injury today by suggesting that this incident has done me a favour by getting West Ham out of the press, as after all I did not ask to be part of his sexist tirade.
"This is not about an apology to me, but about an apology to all women. Richard represents views that myself and those who work in the business of football find totally dinosaur."
Sky insiders said the pair were left with "no reservoir of goodwill" on which to draw, having clashed with a new management structure that had sought to rein in their huge influence and facing long-term resentment from former colleagues who felt casual bullying and sexism towards junior staff was part of the culture.
Several current and former Sky Sports employees claim Keys and Gray were a double act who were emblematic of a Sky Sports culture that characterised the broadcaster's buccaneering early days but which had failed to move with the rest of the company as it grew to become the biggest media force in Britain. That swagger became something of an embarrassment as a new breed of executives sought to overhaul the culture. "It was a boys' club. They were aloof, blokey and arrogant," said one sports broadcasting veteran.
Keys attempted to paint a different picture. He said that the atmosphere could be "a little boisterous" and "reflects what goes on in pubs and clubs", with things sometimes said to put guests at ease. But he said it helped make them the best in the business and added: "Sky is not inherently sexist. Sky Sports is not inherently sexist. The football department is not inherently sexist. It's something left over from an era when we started."
Several industry sources claimed the pair clashed with Sky Sports's managing director, Barney Francis, when he replaced the long-serving Vic Wakeling in 2009, making it clear they thought they were above interference or criticism. "It is disappointing that Richard's career at Sky should end in these circumstances. However, Richard recognises that his comments at the weekend were unacceptable and we note that he has made a full and public apology," Francis said last night. "We thank him for his time in helping make Sky Sports the success it is today."On TalkSport, Keys denied they were arrogant or that their egos were out of control. "Did we have a belief in ourselves? Yes. Are we enormously proud of what we did? Yes, but beyond that it's for others to decide if we were indeed the best or not. We like to think we were. But if that in turn is interpreted by some as being arrogant, I can't do anything to affect that."
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