Former England rugby player James Haskell has been condemned for "disrespecting" women's rugby, after an online incident in which he told Bristol Bears loosehead prop Simi Pam to "have a day off" when she corrected a social media post that failed to recognise the achievements of England's female players.
Pam took Haskell to task over an Instagram post published on Sunday night, after the panel on 'The Good, The Bad and The Rugby' podcast, of which he was one, listed the most capped front-rowers to play for England.
England's James Haskell during the NatWest 6 Nations match at Twickenham Stadium.
Paul Harding
Pam, who moved to the UK from Nigeria aged 3, attacked Haskell’s show for failing to caveat the list by including the word 'male'.
She was also aggrieved that Rocky Clark, who won the 2014 World Cup and made 137 appearances for England, was not mentioned in the list.
Her social media comment said: "I think you meant to say 'most England caps - MALE front row forwards.' Please stop disrespecting the women like this.
"Because they [sic] way you’ve named this list, we know Rocky Clark tops it. Please do better @goodbadrugby."
Barbarians' Simi Pam (right) celebrates scoring a try during the Autumn International match at Twickenham Stadium.
David Davies
In response to Pam, Haskell replied: "@simipam have a day off."
Users came to Pam's defence and Haskell swiftly deleted the comment.
The Bristol Bear, who also works as a full-time doctor in the NHS, dubbed Haskell's retort as "disappointing".
The former England flanker later claimed to have done "more for the growth of the women’s game than anyone", referencing his other show on women's rugby, ‘The Good, The Scaz and The Rugby’.
Pam came back at Haskell however, who said: "As someone who has been a guest on your spin off show @goodscazrugby, hearing that this is how you respond to being corrected for a mistake is very telling.
"I won’t have a day off - why don’t you just do better and stop disrespecting your female fan base and their role models?"
