****Note: This post is rife with links which will only work if you are on the page itself (ie. not a blog reader)
I decided to wait a few hours before I posted on this subject for the sake of trying to gain perspective. Even if you are not a football fan please read this as it is more about free speech and culture than sports.
Yesterday was the last broadcast of the World Soccer Daily radio show/podcast, a program I have listened to for a few years and about which I have posted several times over that period. Host Steven Cohen announced that the decision was based upon threats to himself, his staff and his family by Liverpool fans.
He got crosswise with several official LFC supporters groups over a period of years in which he said some pretty controversial things about the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy in which 96 people were crushed to death by their fellow fans. His opinions were in part based on his impression of Liverpool fan's involvement in football hooliganism during the 70's and 80's and also the Heysel Stadium deaths which also involved LFC fans. These were the origins of the rift between Steven and LFC but in the past few months it has gotten much larger than that.
Liverpool supporters groups began a boycott about 5 months ago after Steven made some demonstrably false statements that he was forced to retract. It involved people contacting WSD's sponsors and asking them to either support what Cohen was saying (and thus be the subject of a boycott) or pull their sponsorship from his show. It was largely effective and many major sponsors did withdraw their support.
Since then the boycott has turned to getting Cohen off the air completely - which was achieved this week. So that's the situation and here are my thoughts....
Whatever off the cuff statements he may have made, Steven has been consistently clear on several points about Hillsborough:
- He has always expressed sympathy for the victims and their families
- He acknowledges that Hillsborough justice groups are right in their suggestions that both Hillsborough stadium officials and the Sheffield Police bear most of the responsibility for the tragedy
- He doesn't believe that the fans whose desire to get into the stadium eventually led to their compatriots' deaths acted maliciously and purposely caused the tragedy
- He does feel that anytime - not just at Hillsborough - people are crushed to death by their fellow man, those who were part of the crowd must accept some measure of responsibility
Over the past few years on WSD these have been consistent points in all discussions about the topic. His claims may not be true or substantiated by the facts but they are, in reality, only his opinions.
Steven has claimed that the success of this boycott is a victory for censorship and a defeat for freedom of expression.
I cannot agree with this assessment. Steven Cohen was free to share his beliefs about Hillsborough and in the same way LFC supporters groups are free to share their displeasure in the form of a boycott and contacting sponsors. WSD has been condemned by some of the biggest names in the football world including Liverpool FC itself, Chelsea FC, Heineken (main Champion's League sponsor), 4-4-2 Magazine and others. It's hard to gauge the importance of this but it certainly gives credibility to the boycott side of the debate. That said, when it comes to actual freedom of expression, neither the government nor any other regulatory institution was involved (or asked to be involved) in any way.
If this situation had ended as a battle between two instances of free expression then so be it, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Steven and Kenny [Hassan, Steven's co-host] have made the claim that threats of violence have been made against them and their families. From the other side I have read that those on the Liverpool supporters' side have faced similar threats from WSD loyalists. Steven and Kenny have read out hateful and anti-Semitic emails purported to come from LFC supporters. "Tony from New Mexico," a former regular caller to the show, says that he has an FBI case number as proof of the threats he has received based on an on-air falling out with the hosts.
These things are unacceptable but I have no way of substantiating any of these claims. Thus, while the claims of threats are relevant to the truth behind the situation, it doesn't really do anything for the discussion.
Conclusion:
After all of that, here is what I think....
Based on years of listening I suspect (though I've never met him) that Steven can be a snarky and unpleasant kind of person if you get on his bad side. Once the LFC contingent did so in trying to get a retraction, it turned into a tit for tat conflict that spiraled down to where we find ourselves today.
I think that Steven's opinion on Hillsborough is a bit muddled and intermixed with a life long dislike of Liverpool as a place and football team. He makes some valid points but he is also prone to making outlandish statements which are not designed to be constructive.
I hate the idea that this involved actual anti-Semitism or intentional and blatant attacks on the memory of 96 innocents who died but I also think that people need to get thicker skin. Just because you dislike what a person says doesn't mean it needs to turn into a 'campaign' or claim that your ethnicity is under assault.
I also think that LFCNY and all those involved in this campaign have done themselves and all of us US footy fans a great disservice. This is the only show of its type. Even in the UK I don't know of another daily show, let alone one that could get the quality of guests that were regulars on WSD.
I relied on it for much of my football education - not just of the current game but also the history and tradition. They have robbed many ardent fans of an outlet and a forum. It seems to me that because these types of supporters groups have been able to silence dissent so effectively in the UK, it was inconceivable that someone might break the code of silence in the US.
I'm not crying about their demise - Steven made his bed and he has to sleep in in - but I enjoyed their program and will miss it. That's moderation. I'm not going nuts on either side and isn't that where most of us usually stand on things?
Tammi and Slicky, you are free to vent here about LFC supporters and the situation.
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