Where Are Those Women Leaders Now? Will The Hypocrisy Ever Stop?

Remember that time a “group of 88 prominent female leaders from across New Jersey” attacked former U.S. Senate candidate Bob Hugin claiming he had “a pattern of intolerance” especially toward women? I do. It was on The Bob & Steve Show blog for the first time on July 23, 2018. Basically, I wrote about the fact these women were angry about Hugin’s defense of an all-male eating club years earlier, but didn’t give a shit about a U.S. Senator helping a dirty old man play sugar daddy to young women. I called out these women many times after that on their hypocrisy. And, here I am calling them out again.

Where are those women leaders now? Where are their statements about Governor Phil Murphy’s horrible pattern of not caring about women?

Here at The Bob & Steve Show we’ve been saying for at least six months that the treatment of women on Murphy’s soccer team, Sky Blue FC, was just the tip of the iceberg. Back on August 14, 2018 I wrote a piece, “Women’s Soccer: NJ Press Lets Governor Murphy Off The Hook,” in which I promised, “If New Jersey’s press is going to continue to let Murphy off the hook for the horrible treatment of the women on his soccer team and his hypocrisy on pay and gender equality then The Bob & Steve Show will do our best to keep reminding New Jerseyans of the BS Murphy is feeding us.”

Considering this is the 32nd time this blog has mentioned Murphy’s soccer team it should be obvious that promise has been kept.

So, back to the original question. Where are those women leaders now? Why aren’t they calling out Murphy over, at the very least, his history of willfully looking the other way while women are being mistreated?

While for months it seemed The Bob & Steve Show was the only voice out there calling out Murphy on his treatment of women it appears others are catching on – FINALLY. Just two weeks ago the Star-Ledger ran an editorial, “Lift the gag rule on women in Murphy campaign,” in which they wrote, in part:

Is the mistreatment of women a common occurrence in Murphy world?

Last week, Jonathan Berkon, an attorney for Phil Murphy's campaign, testified that there were several complaints about the campaign atmosphere, although he did not specify if all were from women or related to gender hostility.

But at least three women have now complained in the press.

It’s nice to see New Jersey’s press finally starting to catch up.

Now, how about all those Democratic women? When are they going to catch up and start calling out Murphy for his mistreatment of women?

I know the answer is never, but it would be nice to see the hypocrisy come to an end.

Uh, Oh More Soccer Team Headlines For Phil Muprhy. Now Stop Buying Your Towels At Bed, Bath & Beyond, The CEO Is A Co-Owner

Two days ago was my 30th blog post about Phil Murphy and his women’s professional soccer team Sky Blue FC. That post was because Bob and I were happy to see New Jersey’s press is starting to pay attention to something we promised on August 14, 2018. Our promise was simple, “If New Jersey’s press is going to continue to let Murphy off the hook for the horrible treatment of the women on his soccer team and his hypocrisy on pay and gender equality then The Bob & Steve Show will do our best to keep reminding New Jerseyans of the BS Murphy is feeding us.”

While we are happy New Jersey’s press is finally paying attention to this issue, it’s likely not because of all the noise we’ve made for the past five months. Obviously, it’s because the sixth overall pick in this month’s National Women’s Soccer League draft was Murphy’s soccer team, Sky Blue FC, choice of Jersey Girl Julia Ashley. At the time we wrote that Ashley was not happy about being picked by Sky Blue and that others noticed:

While we are happy New Jersey’s press has finally decided to stop letting Murphy off the hook for the mistreatment of women at his soccer team and acknowledge no one will ever recognize that it was The Bob & Steve Show that wouldn’t let this story go we’re wondering when the progressives will start protesting Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The thing folks seem to forget is that Steven Temares, the CEO of Bed, Bath & Beyond, is a co-owner of the team. Murphy admitted as much saying to the folks at NJ.com back in July 2018:

"At the end of the day, the buck stops with me and my fellow owner," said Murphy, who co-owns the team with Steven Temares, the CEO of Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Given the fact that Ashley isn’t the only draft pick not wanting to play for Murphy and Temares it should be obvious nothing has been fixed at Sky Blue.

Sky Blue also had the second overall pick, Hailie Mace, a women’s soccer superstar, doesn’t want to play for Murphy’s team either. Again, according to Philly.com:

A few hours later, Equalizer Soccer reported that Sky Blue’s biggest prize of the day, UCLA and U.S. women’s youth national team defender Hailie Mace, does not intend to report to the club. Novo acknowledged “there are challenges” with Mace, the No. 2 overall pick, and acknowledged they’ve been caused by the club’s off-the-field troubles.

Given that the soccer world knows Murphy and Temares have a horrible record when it comes to the treatment of women on their soccer team and that progressives love a good protest, we’re wondering when the progressives will start protesting at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

PRESS RELEASE: NJGOP Chairman: Governor Murphy Must Submit Himself To Ethics Panel Investigation Over Sky Blue FC Conflicts

Today NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt weighed in on controversy surrounding Governor Phil Murphy and his soccer team Sky Blue FC. Unlike many in New Jersey, Steinhardt is not a Johnny-come-lately on this issue. Like us, Steinhardt has been talking about it since August. His press release follows:

For Immediate Release

Trenton, NJ - Following reports yesterday that Governor Murphy was directly involved with the recruitment of a draft pick for his professional women's soccer team, Sky Blue FC,it has come to light that Governor Murphy may have violated state ethics laws. 

Hometown soccer star Julia Ashley told reporters she would rather leave the country than play for Murphy's soccer team. Murphy called her personally, and unsuccessfully, to convince her to stay. Sky Blue FC  made news recently for the poor conditions to which it subjects its female members. 

Governor Murphy's direct involvement in the management of Sky Blue looks like a clear violation of the state’s ethics rules. By his own admission, he put the team into a blind trust during his public service to avoid the conflicts of interest his ownership would create. The team plays its games on state property at Rutgers and has multiple sponsors who receive state funding.

To get to the bottom of yet another scandal, NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt called on Governor Murphy to submit himself to an ethics investigation by the administration's Advisory Ethics Panel.

"Governor Murphy needs to account to the people of New Jersey and prove that he will hold himself to some ethical standard," Steinhardt said. "He needs to take personal responsibility for his decisions. In the spirit of good government and public transparency, he needs to go to the Advisory Ethics Panel and request a written ruling on whether he stepped out of bounds trying to salvage his sweat shop soccer team."

Steinhardt added, "An inquiry of this magnitude cannot be delegated to the Governor’s senior staff, who have demonstrated repeatedly and under oath that they lack a clear understanding of the importance of ethical standards. The Governor likes to say that the buck stops with him. Here’s his chance to put his money where his mouth is. It can’t be one set of rules for him and another set for everyone else.”

“On his first day on the job, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order no. 2, which governs ethics in his office,” Steinhardt concluded. “It’s time Phil Murphy calls balls and strikes on himself.”

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