Andy Gray says he became so low after being sacked by Sky Sports that he considered taking his own life.
Gray and his long-term TV partner Richard Keys were forced to leave Sky in January 2011 after being caught on film making sexist comments.. Their derogatory and misogynistic words concerned referee Sian Massey-Ellis and the fitness of women to officiate at matches.
Keys was recorded as saying: "Somebody better get down there and explain offside to her (Massey)," to which Gray replied: "Yeah, I know. Can you believe that? Female linesman. Forget what I said – they probably don't know the offside rule."
Keys then stated: "Course they don't" to which Gray responded: "Why is there a female linesman? Somebody's f***** up big."
The 66-year-old, who played for Aston Villa, Wolves and Everton in a 17-year career, was part of a huge backlash when the video showing the remarks was leaked. Alongside Keys, he eventually left for Qatar, where they have been employed by beIN Sports since June 2013.
That move came after the former Scotland international went through a period of low thoughts, which he has spoken about in an interview with Piers Morgan for TalkTV.
“I suddenly found myself in a really dark place,” he said, speaking alongside Keys in Doha. The house surrounded by people. And I knew I had done something wrong, of course I did, but I couldn’t compute it.
“My head was gone. If it hadn’t been for my wife, I don’t know what would have happened. I really don’t. Rachel was amazing.
“I was close to going down the garden, where I used to have a pond, with a little bottle and a few pills. I was that bad, one day – that bad, yeah... really weird, but I’m through it now.”
Gray said the thoughts were brought on by the media attention he had attracted, with the press standing outside his house for two weeks. He added that the experience was “horrible” and “really weird” but said he was “through it now” thanks to his wife, family and friends who stuck by him.
Keys also alluded to similar thoughts, adding: “You can't explain, you look back now with a clear head and, you go, ‘What, come on, what are you thinking?’”
Back in 2011, Keys apologised for what he described as “prehistoric banter” which was “not acceptable in a modern world”. He later personally phoned Massey to apologise further.
But in an interview with the Athletic last year he said: “The incident, we should have seen coming. It was a set-up, of course it was. But they made capital out of it.”
Gray asked Morgan whether he thought that the pair deserved to lose their jobs. Morgan replied: "It's interesting, when I looked at it all again, it feels to me like an overreaction by everybody, because you made fulsome apologies."
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