The War of Words Against Women: Why the Controversy Surrounding Barbora Krejcikova is a Societal Problem
The Tennis Channel removed sports journalist Jon Wertheim off the air indefinitely after he made inappropriate comments about the 2024 Wimbledon Champion.
I’m vexed. While I was still processing the 2024 Election results, this Trumpified behavior hit tennis.
The Tennis Channel removed veteran sports journalist Jon Wertheim from the air indefinitely after he made disparaging comments about two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova.
India’s FirstPost Sports covered the incident.
Krejcikova took to social media to respond to “coverage that focused on my appearance rather than my performance.” Most fans, reporters, and tennis officials rallied around Krejcikova, calling Wertheim’s comments inexcusable.
To Wertheim’s credit, he offered no excuses. Instead, he apologized privately and publicly via podcast and social media posts.
Wertheim is one of the best tennis journalists in the business. I was honored when he wrote a nice review about my book, which appears on the back cover. He’s one of the holdovers from Sports Illustrated’s glory days when it was a respected and well-read weekly. He joined SI in 1997, three years after I left. Wertheim is also a member of the CBS 60 Minutes cast.
The dude has a stellar reputation. However, his reputation doesn’t get him a pass. His respectability makes his culpability disheartening. This is not a shock jock or provocateur like Jason Whitlock. The ease with which Wertheim took shots at Krejcikova reflects a Trumpified culture in which men feel emboldened to trash a woman’s appearance, intellect, marital status or laugh, for kicks.
It does not matter that he thought the cameras weren’t rolling. Wertheim was at work, on the clock. He was hired to analyze tennis, not make fun of a player’s physical appearance.
But I’m vexed because the apologetic Wertheim got suspended while unapologetic Donald Trump got reelected for saying and doing far worse.
In his final pitch to voters, Trump held a hate-fest at Madison Square Garden where invited speakers barked insults about Kamala Harris, the sitting Vice President of the United States.
It was a masterclass in misogynoir, the intersection of racism and sexism aimed at black women. Trump called Harris “very low IQ, and the devil.” Another speaker likened Harris to a hooker, noting she had “pimps and handlers.” Yet another called her the antiChrist.
A few days later, someone at a Trump rally shouted that Harris “worked on the corner.” Trump smiled, pointed to the supporter, and said, “This place is amazing. Just remember, it’s other people saying it. It’s not me.”
I’m a firm believer that what gets rewarded gets repeated. After hearing Trump brag about being able to grab women by the “pu**sy” voters elected him President. After he spent the last few months of the 2024 campaign calling black female journalists “nasty” and Harris “dumb as rock,” Americans sent him back to the White House.
I get policy differences. Debate those. Ideological odds? Compare and contrast. People upset over the cost of eggs? I feel you. But those aren’t things Trump ran on. He centered his campaign on trashing Harris, demeaning her every chance he got. I’m not talking about him constantly calling her unfit and unqualified. That’s normal campaign stump speech stuff. However, mocking her name, digs at her racial identity, and slut shaming is frat-boy behavior and have zero to do with politics. Trump and his surrogates spent more time attacking the way Harris laughed than they did the policies posted on her website.
While Harris rarely mentioned her gender, Trump made her being a woman an issue. He said world leaders would walk all over Harris. “She’ll be so easy for them. She’ll be like a play toy,” he said.
Some Trump supporters wore shirts to his rallies that called her a whore while dismissing the behavior of a man who went on trial for paying hush money to a porn star. “Trump or the Tramp,” some shirts read.
Meanwhile, Bible-verse posting Marco Rubio backed Trump, not once chastising the sexist rhetoric. Rubio is rumored to be our next Secretary of State. Tele-evangelist Franklin Graham endorsed Trump, never calling him out for his disgusting insults. Regarding a war of words, it’s open season on women.
This brings me back to Krejickova, a seemingly lovely person who minds her business—playing tennis. Krejcikova was in Riyadh competing in the WTA Finals. She earned a spot in the finals after winning Wimbledon. In the round-robin play, Krejickova was the only player to beat finals champion Coco Gauff.
Nothing that happened in Riyadh warranted comments about her face.
I critique clothing but do my best to limit criticism to style and design. Since sports involve physical prowess, I don’t have an issue analyzing physique when it impacts performance. But that’s not what Weirtheim did. He took a gratuitous dig at an innocent bystander. Concern about his looks became a canvas for painting an ugly picture of Barbora. It’s the same lame way Trump spun his disastrous debate performance into a conspiracy about Harris having wired earrings that radioed her questions.
It feels like Trump groomed the electorate to accept the unacceptable. Once Americans deemed pu**y grabbing and mocking a moderator’s menstrual cycle as OK, slut shaming was an easy ask.
Unlike Trump, Wertheim paid a price for his inappropriate comments. Perhaps that’s because the international tennis community is not MAGA and less tolerant of abhorrent behavior. Even the Tennis Channel, owned by Trump-backing Sinclair Broadcast Group, took swift action against Wertheim.
Although I remain vexed about the election, I feel better about the international tennis community. Tennis pushed back against Trumpified behavior. That leaves me hopeful.
ATP Finals: Top Storylines Out of Turin
This year’s ATP Finals have been marked by the sick and tired. Carlos Alcaraz is sick and Daniil Medvedev is tired, as in fed up with the long season.
Today, Alcaraz defeated Andrey Rublev, 6-2, 7-6 (8), taking a thrilling second-set tiebreaker. The win keeps Alcaraz’s hopes alive and shuts the door on Rublev, who has yet to win a set.
Monday, Alcaraz lost 6-1, 7-5 to world No 7 Casper Ruud in his first group stage match in Turin. Ruud and Alexander Zverev square off this evening in Turin.
Bothered by a flu-like illness, Alcaraz wore a nose strip to help with breathing. He seemed lethargic in his match against Ruud. He wasn’t 100 percent against Rublev, but he is recovering nicely.
Meanwhile, Medvedev's meltdown bordered on ridiculous in an opening match against Taylor Fritz. He kept tossing his racket and allowing it to hit the ground. Childish and unprofessional.
After the match, Medvedev said, “The more popular you become, the more fans you get, the more haters you get, the more attention you get. And sometimes even the good noise can make you off balance.”
Nah, dude. The more you act like a jerk, the more haters you get.
WTA Finals: Coco Gauff wins record $4.8 million
What a way to finish the season! Coco Gauff defeated Qinwen Zheng in a three-set thriller in the championship match of the WTA Finals. Gauff fell behind 3-6, 0-2 before storming back and forcing a third set, which went to a tiebreaker. She dominated in the tiebreaker, winning 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
She took home $4.8 million, the largest tournament payout to a women’s tennis player.
Despite reaching a career-high No. 2 this summer, remaining in the Top Five for a third consecutive year, and winning a Grand Slam title in doubles, Gauff felt she had to push back against critics who dreamed her season a failure because she didn’t defend her US Open title or reach any Grand Slam singles finals.
“lol safe to say I beat the bad season allegations,” Gauff posted on social media.
Gauff finishes the season 54-17 with three WTA titles. Meanwhile, Zheng reaches a career-high No. 5.
Check out the highlights from Coco’s run to the title.
Billie Jean King Cup delayed due to the weather
The start of the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly the Federation Cup, was postponed due to torrential rain in Malaga, Spain, the tournament site.
Spain vs. Poland was supposed to get underway on Tuesday.
The tournament will begin with Japan against Romania Thursday morning, followed by Slovakia against the United States at 5 p.m.
The start of the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly the Federation Cup, was postponed due to torrential rain in Malaga, Spain, the tournament site.
The 12 participating teams are Canada (defending champions), Italy (2023 runners-up), Spain, Australia, Germany, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Japan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the USA.
Big names representing their countries include Iga Swiatek (Poland), Jasmine Paolini (Italy), Emma Raducanu (Great Britain), Danielle Collins (USA) and Paula Badosa (Spain). Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Emma Navarro opted out of the BJK Cup.
Swiatek and Paolini are the only singles players competing in Riyadh and participating in the BJK Cup. Taylor Townsend, who reached the WTA Finals doubles final, and her partner Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) are also playing. Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic) withdrew earlier this week.
How to make Easy No Bake Cappuccino Mini Cheesecakes
It's that time of the year when you're hosting friends and relatives for small gatherings. It's easy to order decadent desserts from a boutique bakery or local grocery store. But those pricey desserts can be quite easy to make. I love this no-bake mini cappuccino cheesecake recipe from the Cupcake Savvy Kitchen.
This recipe requires a few ingredients that are not pantry staples. However, these cheesecake cuties are easy to make, and if done with care, you can produce a gourmet baker-quality presentation.
Follow the recipe via the highlighted link or the video. It gets easier each time you make these.
Mini cheesecakes are a great way to impress guests. You can make them ahead, experiment with flavors and crust, swapping out graham crackers for chocolate cookies and caramel for chocolate. So go ahead, unleash your inner pastry chef.
What You’ll Need:
Chocolate Cookie Crumbs: forms crust.
Melted Unsalted Butter: to bind crumbs together.
Cream Cheese: main ingredient for the cheesecake.
Powdered Sugar: Primary sweetener.
Vanilla: to add to heavy cream.
Cappuccino Instant Coffee: Provides the coffee flavor.
Gelatine: provides firmness to no-bake cheesecake.
Hot Water: to dissolve gelatin.
Heavy Cream: adds richness to the filling and the whipped topping.
Powdered Chocolate or Cocoa Powder: Used for dusting over the whipped cream topping.
Melted Chocolate: Used to create decorative garnish.
Power Rankings: Ranking the Top 10 Women's Tennis Players After 2024 Season
Power Rankings: Ranking the Top 10 Men's Tennis Players After 2024 Season