Wow… that was not really British. It could have been the “Murray euphoria” that casued so much excitement, but John Inverdale went a bit overboard.
The comment: You’ll never be a looker
The BBC commentator had a inappropriate remark on Radio 5 live to say “Do you think Bartoli’s dad told her when she was little ‘You’re never going to be a looker? You’ll never be a Sharapova, so you have to be scrappy and fight.’”
Bartoli’s father
Marion’s dad commented ” I am not angry. She is my beautiful daughter. The relationship between Marion and me has always been unbelievable so I don’t know what this reporter is talking about. When she was five years old she was playing like every kid and having fun on the tennis court.”
BBC apology
The BBC released a clear comment to say“We accept that this remark was insensitive and for that we apologise.”
Inverdale’s apology: Marion is a great example
“The point I was trying to make, in a rather ham-fisted kind of way, was that in a world where the public perception of tennis players is that they’re all six-feet-tall Amazonian athletes, Marion – who is the Wimbledon champion – bucks that trend.” said Inverdale.
Then he added that Marion is “a fantastic example to all young people that it’s attitude and will and determination together, obviously, with talent that, in the end, does get you to the top.”
