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Bernie likens Danica to 'domestic appliance'


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#1 pacwest

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 02:26

http://msn.foxsports...r/story/3701634

Formula One is getting its most high-profile United States presence with the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, but Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone doesn't seem to be too crazy about Patrick joining her male competitors on the track, despite her recent Indy 500 success.
"She did a good job, didn't she? Super. Didn't think she'd be able to make it like that," Ecclestone told a gathering of reporters about Patrick's Indy 500 finish.

"You know, I've got one of these wonderful ideas that women should be all dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances," Ecclestone added.



I'll finally throw my hat in the ring and ask for his removal. If this man cannot see something as simple as equal rights then how can he comprehend other concepts from this century?

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#2 KiwiF1

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 02:32

When I heard this on the news last night, I have to say I was initially surprised then I remembered that this Bernie we are talking about here. Being a woman I should be utterly disgusted, however I am not it made me laugh....... and this man is in control of the sport!!!! Maybe one of the Michelin teams can let her have a race seat next season so we can hear some more of his well thought out comments! :lol:

#3 amiga1

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 02:35

Your naive if u think he means that.

Bernie would love Danica to join F1

#4 Programmer

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 02:37

Wow, that is a stupid comment to be making to the press. He may have be speaking with tongue firmly in cheek, but it's hard to tell and many people will find this to be offensive.

F1 management needs a shake-up, I agree. I could just imagine someone like David Coulthard in a role like this, I think it would bring a huge breath of fresh air and relevancy to the sport. Of course, at that level of management it's really just about power and money and it seems that a background in business and law is more important than actual F1 racing experience. Oh well...

#5 KiwiF1

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 02:41

Originally posted by amiga1
Your naive if u think he means that.

Bernie would love Danica to join F1


I am not that naive, I live in NZ F1 go less than 1 minute news time Sunday night (race was 6.00am Monday) and that was the main bit, then they happened to mention that there was "a little problem with tyres" therefore the majority on NZ will not know whether he was just joking, he will just come across as a chauvanist. I am still amazed that F1 is still shown here, there is so little interest with most people into V8, oh wait a minute, next season F1 will be V8's!!!

#6 JForce

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 02:44

Originally posted by KiwiF1


I am not that naive, I live in NZ F1 go less than 1 minute news time Sunday night (race was 6.00am Monday) and that was the main bit, then they happened to mention that there was "a little problem with tyres" therefore the majority on NZ will not know whether he was just joking, he will just come across as a chauvanist. I am still amazed that F1 is still shown here, there is so little interest with most people into V8, oh wait a minute, next season F1 will be V8's!!!


Amiga is a Kiwi too (so am I) so he knows that...but he's right.

Bernie made a joke...he meant "I have one of those old fashioned views, and here's this girl proving me wrong, good for her"

However not the smartest thing he's ever said...

#7 TIPO61

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 02:46

Clearly Bernie has lost his grip...on Formula 1 as well.
Max never had one.

#8 alesifan46

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 02:51

Uncle Bernie may well have to eat his words about Danica!!!....He may have to PUT HER ON POLE POSITION automatically next year,,just to get this SORRY ASS circuit back into INDY!! :rolleyes:

#9 Schu

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 03:01

:rotfl: I think Bernie is just trying to generate some attention for f1 (before today of course) :lol:

#10 skinnylizard

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 05:08

this is how people rake the muck. the bit about women was in response to when Bernie was at some prize ceremony at the Toyota motorhome last GP(iirc) and the whole place he said looked like a kitchen with all the guys dressed in white. the danica comment was completely unrelated i dont think the two quotes are remotely connected.

#11 Lada Lover

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 05:16

Originally posted by amiga1
Your naive if u think he means that.

Bernie would love Danica to join F1


I think so too. I'm sure BE was joking. He pulled it off too because not many people would think he was joking.

#12 AlexS

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 06:19

Hehe


could just imagine someone like David Coulthard in a role like this, I think it would bring a huge breath of fresh air and relevancy to the sport.



Yeah bring Mr. I was squezing your jornalist nipples... hehe even better :)

#13 SalutGilles

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 06:26

all i know is that sportscenter on ESPN covered the story two nights in a row, 2 mins for the 1st night, and about 4 for the second - complete with b-roll of the Ferrari team and all...

it was some decent publicity, albeit in a strange way - but whatever gets people to watch...

#14 Peter North

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 06:27

Ecclestone would never turn down a big draw like Danica Patrick in F1. I think his comments, although distasteful, iterate respect for Patrick's racing skill and ability to prove the old man wrong.

#15 xenna

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Posted 20 June 2005 - 16:10

Originally posted by Peter North
Ecclestone would never turn down a big draw like Danica Patrick in F1. I think his comments, although distasteful, iterate respect for Patrick's racing skill and ability to prove the old man wrong.



True.

As my dad has always said you don't have racism or sexism born with you. You learn it.

By B ernie saying that I didn't find it funny at all.

When They raced in Japan this year, Danica was such a huge point of attention for the Japanese fans and imagine how the IRL and the sponsors gained a lot from that exposure.

#16 Dino G

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Posted 21 June 2005 - 18:27

Suffice to say that the only two reports I saw from media sports giant ESPN were Bernie's comments and the race fiasco.

#17 tifosi

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Posted 21 June 2005 - 18:32

Originally posted by alesifan46
Uncle Bernie may well have to eat his words about Danica!!!....He may have to PUT HER ON POLE POSITION automatically next year,,just to get this SORRY ASS circuit back into INDY!! :rolleyes:


That's okay. I think he wants to go to Long Beach anyway.

#18 Cool Tard

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Posted 21 June 2005 - 18:37

Actually I'm rather sure that a waffle-maker wouldn't have spun out under caution, so his comparison is rather invalid.

#19 dbltop

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Posted 21 June 2005 - 18:43

He must realize that those kind of "jokes" aren't funny anymore. Maybe he's going senile and thinks he is still living in the 50s or something.

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#20 tripleM

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Posted 21 June 2005 - 18:48

Originally posted by JForce


Bernie made a joke...he meant "I have one of those old fashioned views, and here's this girl proving me wrong, good for her"


I'm not British & even I though it was tongue in cheek.
Though I agree that maybe it wasn't quite the right forum to make a joke like that. Media being what they are would run with it & spin it out of control.

#21 Dudley

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Posted 21 June 2005 - 23:27

And even if not he's 156 years old, he's from a different time in that respect.

More seriously, if I've got this right, when Bernie was born, women weren't allowed to vote.

#22 boafan

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 02:25

Originally posted by Dudley
And even if not he's 156 years old, he's from a different time in that respect.

More seriously, if I've got this right, when Bernie was born, women weren't allowed to vote.


that's what I was thinking, this guy grew up with different views then we do. I dont agree with what he said, but personally I don't really mind since it was against that patrick woman. Did you guys read what she said about f1, how if she joined it would have to be for a 'certain team' (certain meaning top), because she has to watch out for her happiness, bla bla bla. How good does she think she really is, honestly.

#23 trow

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 03:28

You also must know that he made these comments in short succession with no time to pause between, Friday it was IMS not promoting F1 like it should, and then Saturday came the Danica/domestic appliances comment, and finally to top matters off the disgRACE on Sunday ...

He surprised me with these statements. Not a good way to build a strong following in the US.

#24 Fredd

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 05:49

He was joking.

People often complain about how today's drivers become PR automatons when a mic is thrust in front of them? Well reactions like this are the reason. Sure the remarks were inappropriate and very badly timed but people should be allowed to make mistakes from time to time when talking to the press. Jumping on instances like this makes people stick to the boring politically correct PR script.

#25 ensign14

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 06:33

Examples of different senses of humour.

Look at sitcoms.

The United States comes up with Friends, Home Improvement, Roseanne, the Golden Girls, Full House, that thing with Urkel and Fresh Prince. Laughter free zone.

Europe comes up with Fawlty Towers, Steptoe, Father Ted, Yes Minister, Porridge, Only Fools & Horses, the European Union, Drop The Dead Donkey, Nighty Night, the Office, Dear John, Ever Decreasing Circles, Rising Damp, Red Dwarf &c &c &c.

Case closed. Bolted. Chained. Dumped in the Marianas Trench.

#26 xype

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 06:35

If Danica was about to join F1, would Bernie try to prevent it? No. That's all it matters when it comes to whether he's sexist or not.

Besides, I'd love for Danica to get a test with a top team. Because I doubt she'd be anywhere close to the other drivers - even _if_ she gets a lighter car. But I think a season in a Minardi would do her worlds of good, before she moves up to better teams. She'd learn about the tracks and cars and fitness, while having a car where being slower wouldn't dissapoint that many people.

I just don't buy the domestic appliance from Bernie. I rather think he said it to get someone to "prove him wrong" by installing Danica at a team.

#27 Rob29

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 07:00

Originally posted by Dudley
And even if not he's 156 years old, he's from a different time in that respect.

More seriously, if I've got this right, when Bernie was born, women weren't allowed to vote.

Not quite Dudley,as Bernie b.28.10.31. women gained vote in UK at age 30 in 1918,equalitity with men in 1928. Certainly none were allowed near the pits at Indy in his day!

#28 pacwest

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 17:25

Well it appears Bernie called Danica and repeated the comments to her. She's unimpressed:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8317370/

#29 indysteve

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 18:05

I see in the photo that Bernie is dressed in white. Perhaps he is the one who is like all the other domestic appliances! :lol:

#30 karlth

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 18:17

Originally posted by pacwest
Well it appears Bernie called Danica and repeated the comments to her. She's unimpressed:


... but she will grow to love him.

#31 BuzzingHornet

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 18:23

Give him his due, at least he has the bottle to say it to her face :rotfl:
Its a ridiculous comment but obviously a joke, she hardly needs him to 'validate her womanhood' does she? She probably told him that he should have a fishing rod like all the other garden gnomes :)

#32 KinetiK

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 18:27

Originally posted by amiga1
Your naive if u think he means that.

Bernie would love Danica to join F1


Except she would make Alex Yoong look like Michael Schumacher.

#33 dworsham

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 18:56

the man had lost his mind .... period

#34 xype

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 19:19

The man is making a diversion.

#35 pRy

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 19:33

99.9% of the things Bernie says in public don't mean a thing.

#36 dworsham

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 19:58

agreed that he is a master of marketing crap and the king of diversion but in this article she (Danica) reports he called her and stated it all again.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8317370/

so even if it is all crap and diversion it is a grand massive foolish tact.

#37 John B

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 20:30

June 22, 4:26 PM:

Formula One racing is discussed on Boston's sports talk radio for the first time I can remember, thanks to Bernie's quotes. The afternoon show is having a field day with him.

What a great week..... :lol: :lol: :lol:

#38 ivanalesi

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 20:43

That's the good about Bernie, he's unbelievably straigth.
Looking at Danica, she's great, i mean in look:) Everyone would love to see her with her tight racingsuit on the podium, but the fact is, that she's neither fit neither ... yes, that much talented - remember, he tried in the UK, but...
Btw, do you remember Scott Dixon's neck problems? He's a tough guy, ah?:) Oh, and I think that BAR think the same...

#39 TailHappy

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 22:04

I laughed when I saw this on the news. Good ol Bernie. I think my wife would have laughed too if she could have seen it. I should really let her have a tv in the kitchen.

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#40 osborn

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 22:56

SENSE OF HUMOUR FACTOR

#41 dworsham

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Posted 22 June 2005 - 23:26

this kind of crap will not help F1 in the US or anywhere. Spoke with the wife of a mate in Melbourne today who loves F1, goes to AU, Japan and Malysia every year, and she was pissed. Even if his comments were in jest or a tactic to get attention / press it was a dumd move.

She comparied it to having him say there are on drivers of African heritage.


Just stupid. So many other ways to get attention. Especially after his anti-Indy comments before 100,000 + paying fans are served up a farce.

bad form Bernie, bad form.

you just don't **** on the people who buy the tickets, programs, caps, shirts and beers and then expect them to come running back year after year.

#42 FordFan

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 00:40

I think I have a decent sense of humor, and have no problem at all with off-color jokes. But, I just don't see people defending Bernie on this one. There are certain times and places for such jokes and in public and to a person you don't know is not it. Failing to realize this is failing to have an appropriate sense of humor. You wouldn't tell a racist joke like this, in public to a person in color that you didn't know, even if it was completely tongue in cheek. Maybe in private, after you knew them for a while, or as a character on a sitcom, or a standup comedian. Not as the guy in charge of F1.

I think those saying "lighted up, it was just a joke" are the ones with poor senses of humor.

#43 Ivan

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 01:30

From USATODAY

Patrick upset and confused by Ecclestone's comments
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Danica Patrick is upset at Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and confused by his comments likening women to "domestic appliances."
Patrick received a telephone call from Ecclestone last week during which he congratulated the Indy Racing League rookie for her performance at the Indianapolis 500, but also reiterated remarks he had made during an interview at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the U.S. Grand Prix was being held.

Among the comments Ecclestone made in the interview and to Patrick was that "Women should be all dressed in white like all other domestic appliances."

"I just didn't make sense of it," Patrick said during an IRL teleconference this week. "I was surprised, I guess, somebody would say that to me. And the days after, when it actually came out in the press, people were asking me 'What do you think of that?'

"I was like, 'You know what he told me? He said that on the phone.'

Patrick said some of Ecclestone's comments were positive and complimentary, which made the exchange more perplexing.

"I can't believe that he would say it to me over the phone, not to my face, but directly to me," she said. "I was a bit confused. ... So I don't really know what to think about it.

"I don't know if he was talking about someone else or the majority or what, I'm not really sure. Or, maybe that's his real feeling.

"If that's the case, then you know, (it) doesn't really matter because I'm racing in the Indy Racing League."

Last month, Patrick became the first woman to lead a lap at the Indianapolis 500. She finished fourth, the best finish by a female in the 89-year history of the race.

Ecclestone did not immediately return a call to his London office. Patrick was on the road Wednesday, traveling to Richmond, Va., where she will race Saturday night.

Ecclestone has made controversial remarks about women before. He told Autosport racing magazine in 2000 that women could not compete in Formula One, but if one did, "she would have to be a woman who was blowing away the boys. ... What I would really like to see happen is to find the right girl, perhaps a black girl with super looks, preferably Jewish or Muslim, who speaks Spanish."

#44 Williams

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 01:39

Bernie's starting to lose it a bit, I think.

#45 dworsham

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 02:40

Originally posted by Williams
Bernie's starting to lose it a bit, I think.



too right.

stand down Bernie
stand down please

STAND DOWN BERNIE!


#46 brooster51

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 02:50

Dear Bernie

Thick as a brick and no where as quick!

Time for a change

#47 Jackie

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 03:13

"You know, I've got one of these wonderful ideas that women should be all dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances," Ecclestone added.



You lot are SO funny. As a British female living in the USA, it amazes me that Americans still don't understand British humour. Don't you guys get it???? Really?

I honestly can't believe that some people took it seriously :):):)

#48 dworsham

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 04:15

Originally posted by Jackie


You lot are SO funny. As a British female living in the USA, it amazes me that Americans still don't understand British humour. Don't you guys get it???? Really?

I honestly can't believe that some people took it seriously :):):)


turn it around,

empathy

Brit humor does not rule in India, Thialand, Vietnam, China, the US, Africa,,, you know the places Bernie is growing the sport at a rate of a new track / year at least... china, Bahrain, Turkey,

not quite the center of the universe.

think

#49 Fredd

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 07:52

So what you're saying dworsham is that everyone speaking to the public should say precisely the PR-vetted, politically correct boring crap that I and many other people are so bored of?

I don't disagree that his remarks were inappropriate especially when focused on an american girl not likely to understand them, and the timing was awful. But when people speak their mind and state their opinions or especially make a joke it is likely that at some point they might say something that someone somewhere will find offensive. Considering how often Bernie speaks to the media perhaps it should be surprising that he doesn't slip up more often?

As you've also pointed out, humour doesn't always travel well so should all jokes be banned? Perhaps Bernie should have quickly checked his tome of International Rules of Humour to make sure his off-the-cuff joke was globally acceptable.

Thank god there are still people around brave enough to say what they want and make mistakes. The chances are that when Bernie is replaced his successor will be smooth, PR-trained, use plenty of strange business jargon like that found here and certainly never dare to make a politically incorrect joke.

Don't get me wrong I think Bernie (and Max) need to go for the sake of F1, but to crucify someone for making a stupid joke is just ridiculous. Whatever he has to say he is usually direct and to the point, and he's one of the few people I actually want to see interviewed even though I mostly disagree with his views. I think it's worth forgiving the occasional screw up for that.

#50 kismet

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Posted 23 June 2005 - 08:36

Looks like a joke to me, albeit not a particularly good one. Of course the thing with inappropriate and politically incorrect (?) jokes is that they aren't always told in quite as much jest as one would like to think.