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Tennis Channel introduced Sunday that it was taking analyst Jon Wertheim off the air indefinitely after he was heard making what the community described as an “inappropriate remark” about reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.
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The transfer to sideline Wertheim, whose journalism additionally seems in Sports activities Illustrated and on 60 Minutes, got here hours after Krejcikova decried the “unprofessional commentary” and known as for “respect and professionalism in sports activities media.”
“I like tennis deeply,” Krejcikova wrote in a publish on X, “and I wish to see it represented in a manner that honors the dedication we make to compete at this degree.”
Wertheim subsequently shared an apology through which he stated he “made some deeply regrettable feedback off-air.”
The episode occurred Friday as Tennis Channel was airing protection of the WTA Finals. The community briefly minimize to its “TC Stay” studio present, seemingly at a second when its hosts had been unaware they had been on digital camera. Clips of the incident confirmed Wertheim, getting ready for a distant look on the present, making unflattering remarks about Krejcikova’s look.
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Wertheim stated in his publish Sunday that in rehearsal for the present, the panelists had been proven a graphic with a picture of a participant “at an angle that exaggerated her brow.”
“Just a few moments later,” he wrote, “I used to be informed to border up my zoom. I seemed on the low digital camera angle and joked that it made my brow resemble the photograph of the participant in query. Somebody within the management room chimed in and I bantered again. Although this was a stay rehearsal, this trade inadvertently, and with out context, made it to stay air.
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“I understand: I’m not the sufferer right here,” Wertheim continued. “It was neither skilled nor charitable nor reflective of the individual I attempt to be. I’m accountable. I personal this. I’m sorry.”
A 28-year-old Czech athlete who additionally earned a Grand Slam singles title on the 2021 French Open, Krejcikova stated Sunday that such feedback, which “targeted on my look fairly than my efficiency,” weren’t unprecedented.
“This isn’t the primary time one thing like that is occurring in sports activities world,” she wrote. “I’ve typically chosen to not converse up, however I consider it’s time to deal with the necessity for respect and professionalism in sports activities media. These moments distract from the true essence of sport and the dedication all athletes deliver to the sphere.”
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Wertheim was given a 2022 award from the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame for his “important affect on the world of tennis” by means of his writing and commentary. Among the many 11 books he has written or co-written is “Venus Envy,” a deep dive into the ladies’s tour, and “Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Biggest Match Ever Performed.”
Tennis Channel stated in a press release Sunday that when it grew to become conscious of Wertheim’s feedback, it “instantly eliminated him from our air indefinitely.” The community added that it and Wertheim apologized to Krejcikova.
“Jon has devoted his profession to shining a lightweight on and rising this sport and has been a valued member of our household and the tennis group,” the community said. “That stated, Tennis Channel holds its staff to a normal of respectfulness for others always, a normal that was not met on this second.”
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