Just Now Figuring That Out? Former BBC Director Admits That Firing Jeremy Clarkson Was A Mistake

Mistake? It all depends which ruler you use to measure success:

(1) Money: Yes, BIG mistake. Clarkson's on-show popularity had a huge following, and sold the show well.

(2) Assholery: Right decision, no mistake. Clarkson's racist and other remarks, and his physical violence with a co-worker is, in the very least, unprofessional. And this type of stuff was not the rare exception.

Many decades ago, when I was in a Fortune-50 company, Ethics Training was a compulsory program. In one scenario, your star salesman repeatedly contravenes company code by falsifying expense reports, and even theft. What do you do? Many folks turned a blind eye because he brings in the sale. A much smaller number of folks said to get rid of him (after due opportunity to change his was, as Clarkson had), because "he goes against our core values."

There's no "right" answer. However, YOUR answer depends on what you value more. And again, there's not "right" or "wrong" on what you value more. It's just part of your story, about who you are.

Interesting subject - I am doing an online workplace harassment training now.

Here's Clarkson's former boss's quote: “I don’t think people should punch their colleagues. It’s hard to keep them if they do".

For this comment, I'd say you are clueless sir. It's a clear violation of the law (link: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment), and you don't have a say in it as you are obligated to terminate employment of the offending party. Every company has an employee handbook, I am sure BBC has one too.

Regardless of how valuable monetarily Clarkson was, a punch to a co-worker should earn him an automatic ejection.

The guy Clarkson punched should have been fired for not doing his job which is why Clarkson punched him.

The BBC shat their pants on this one.

Screw workplace harassment! This is about making money.

Those who respond to this need to learn the meaning of the word "facetious".

Matt, sometimes it's hard to tell from text alone if one is employing sarcasm or if they mean what they say, especially if the observer does not know the observed well. Thanks for the closing sentence, which cleared that up.

@MD: Wait till you are on the receiving end of a punch at your office - a very likely possibility - and tell us how you feel. We'll all chip in a drop of tear for you, and a round of applause for the girl who gives you the punch.

@HenryN...obviously you did not look up the word. Perhaps your literacy skills are lower than I had imagined.

@MD: humor doesn't make you any less obnoxious. It's in the blood. Wouldn't surprise me when you leave your office with a black eye and a bruised ego.

Too bad Chris, Jeremy Clarkson is now working at a local McDonalds so you are too late. Jeremy can flip burgers and never forgets to ask "can we supersize the fries?"