Nothing balanced about bias

Bias is all around us. You can't get away from it. Whether it is family, work, sport, there is always bias when it comes to making decisions about something whether it is right or wrong.

Bias is a good thing as is generates debate as it would be boring if everyone agreed on everything. However, when bias is abused by those that can't see the wood from the trees, it just becomes frustrating to listen to.

That's what we have seen and heard over the past two weeks with the reaction to the red cards in both the All Ireland Senior Hurling & Football finals from Kilkenny and Dublin past players and pundits.

I can be rightly accused of bias writing this considering Tipperary benefitted from Richie Hogan's red card in the hurling final but I'll go on record and say if the shoe was on the other foot and a Tipperary player had done the exact same thing to a Kilkenny player, then I would have no complaints about a red card being issued and you could be sure Kilkenny supporters and pundits would have been screaming for it too if that was the case.

A head high challenge is a red card, end of story, regardless of whether it is in the first round or an All Ireland Final. Persistant fouling on four occasions, culminating in pulling his opponent down by the arm for a second yellow card is a red card end of story.

So then, why is it Kilkenny and Dublin pundits find it so hard to agree with what happened in both instances. There is nothing loyal about being biased in both instances. Any defence of what happened is silly and makes those saying so sound stupid.

When appointed to analyse games, past players are supposed to leave their bias at home but over the last two weeks on the Sunday Game, Henry Shefflin, Jackie Tyrrell, Ciaran Whelan and Ger Brennan couldn't do that.

 

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