The Tennis Channel has suspended journalist Jon Wertheim after he made remarks about the appearance of reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova on-air.
Krejcikova competed at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this week, where she was beaten by Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals. However, during coverage of the event on Friday, Wertheim made a comment about Krejcikova’s forehead. The two-time Grand Slam winner posted on social media on Saturday she was disappointed with ‘this type of unprofessional commentary.’
‘This isn’t the first time something like this is happening in (the) sports world. I’ve often chosen not to speak up, but I believe it’s time to address the need for respect and professionalism in sports media,’ Krejcikova said.
On Sunday, the Tennis Channel announced it had immediately removed Wertheim from on-air duties indefinitely and apologized to Krejcikova .
‘Tennis Channel holds its employees to a standard of respectfulness for others at all times, a standard that was not met in this moment,’ the statement read.
Wertheim apologized for the incident on social media, explaining that the comments he made were done in a ‘private rehearsal’ but made it on air.
‘I am not the victim here. It was neither professional nor charitable nor reflective of the person I strive to be. I am accountable. I own this. I am sorry,’ he said.
Wertheim also said he ‘reached out immediately and apologized to the player.’
In addition to his work for Tennis Channel, Wertheim is a senior writer and editor for ‘Sports Illustrated’ and a correspondent for “60 Minutes’ on CBS.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.