Matthews’ departure from MSNBC is long overdue. He has a decades-long history of misogyny -- on and off the air -- and even openly bragged about whether women measured up to his “Chris Matthews test" of women’s attractiveness. He spoke derisively of female politicians, complaining about their voices and diminishing their accomplishments. He had a particular fixation on whether powerful women were “castrating” their male counterparts.

Matthews’ derogatory behavior towards women extended off-air as well. NBC Universal has settled at least one sexual harassment claim against Matthews and as recently as last week, journalist Laura Bassett disclosed that Matthews behaved in a “gross" and “inappropriate" manner when she was a guest on his show.

Despite all of this, MSNBC continued to give Matthews a powerful platform on the network, making him a feature of their political commentary and a staple of their election coverage. No matter how the decision was made for Matthews to resign, the fact remains that MSNBC turned a blind eye to his sexist, misogynistic, and offensive behavior for years. This move was beyond overdue, and the network should be ashamed to have propped up this man for so long.