Great Tennis Journalism 2.0

[ptmcmahon]

Going to need to have our own AI branch for this thread!

[ti-amie]

[ptmcmahon]

Nope he's not saying "forehand" ... yikes.

[Owendonovan]

The looker that John is.......

[Owendonovan]

Yeah, this became something, it's everywhere. As it should.

Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova criticised a journalist's "unprofessional commentary" after he made a remark about her appearance on air.
During a Tennis Channel broadcast on Friday, Jon Wertheim commented on the Czech world number 13's forehead.
Krejcikova was competing at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she was knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual runner-up Zheng Qinwen.
Wertheim said his comments were "deeply regrettable" and that he apologised to Krejcikova.

Tennis Channel has removed him from air "indefinitely".

https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/articles/cew2npwygq5o

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[mmmm8]

Two paragraphs of overexplaining, three lines of apology. I know Jon's a friend of TAT but this was really ugly.

[Owendonovan]

He'll be heroic to the alt-right.

[mmmm8]

He'll be heroic to the alt-right.

I doubt they're paying attention to him!

[JTContinental]

Two paragraphs of overexplaining, three lines of apology. I know Jon's a friend of TAT but this was really ugly.

Used to be a big fan, but his luster has faded somewhat over the past few years, and now I often think he just sounds like an out of touch grandpa

[meganfernandez]

Jon made one unforced error in over 30 years. Most of us would, and especially if we were in the public eye. IMO, it wasn't even that bad. He's no angel but he is a good man and great journalist. I wish Barbora had said something like, "I do have a big forehead. He has a big mouth. No hard feelings." And then they could have had a nice interview on TC about the issues she mentioned in her statement, which I would love to hear more about.

"Focusing on my appearance rather than my performance" is a bit disingenuous. This wasn't during a match and he didn't focus on anything. He made a dumb joke. Some perspective.

I like Barbora a lot. Her game is gorgeous. She is also very pretty, IMO. Refreshing personality.

[meganfernandez]

Two paragraphs of overexplaining, three lines of apology. I know Jon's a friend of TAT but this was really ugly.

Used to be a big fan, but his luster has faded somewhat over the past few years, and now I often think he just sounds like an out of touch grandpa

Ageism! Since when are grandpas automatically out of touch (with whom/what) or irrelevant?

[JTContinental]

Two paragraphs of overexplaining, three lines of apology. I know Jon's a friend of TAT but this was really ugly.

Used to be a big fan, but his luster has faded somewhat over the past few years, and now I often think he just sounds like an out of touch grandpa

Ageism! Since when are grandpas automatically out of touch (with whom/what) or irrelevant?

lol in reality, he's only a few years older than me. I still enjoy his commentary, but have the occasional cringe moment when reading it.

[meganfernandez]

Used to be a big fan, but his luster has faded somewhat over the past few years, and now I often think he just sounds like an out of touch grandpa

Ageism! Since when are grandpas automatically out of touch (with whom/what) or irrelevant?

lol in reality, he's only a few years older than me. I still enjoy his commentary, but have the occasional cringe moment when reading it.

I can see that. I'd probably chalk it up to a lack of craft in that moment more than out of touch. He lives in NY, travels the world, has Gen Z kids... I'm sure he has some blind spots, as we all do. For me, he swings some of the most beautiful sentences in tennis. Hardly anyone writes about tennis with as much craft as he does. But it's a matter of taste. Some people might prefer Ben or Giri Nathan or Louisa Thomas or Steve Weissman. Jon is also how I found TAT 20 years ago!

I think Jon deserves a lot of respect and the benefit of the doubt. He's more than a good guy and has been graceful to others when they have messed up. He just messed up. We all mess up. The only thing he can do is apologize. He shouldn't lose his career or have to hide off-air. It won't help tennis or Barbora.