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Danielle Sinay
Jul 06, 2021
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BBC commentator John McEnroe has been criticised for speculating that Emma Raducanu’s withdrawal from Wimbledon was due to the fact that she simply couldn’t handle the pressure — and Piers Morgan has taken to Twitter to defend him.
In reality, Raducanu withdrew due to breathing problems (though it really shouldn’t matter). Raducanu’s opponent, Ajla Tomljanovic, said McEnroe’s comments were “harsh,” and several Twitter users took issue with this commentary.
One in particular came to his defence, however: none other than Morgan.
“McEnroe told the truth. Ms Raducanu’s a talented player but couldn’t handle the pressure & quit when she was losing badly. Not ‘brave’, just a shame. If I were her, I’d tell my fans to stop abusing McEnroe, & seek his advice on how to toughen up & become a champion like he was,” Morgan wrote.
McEnroe told the truth. Ms Raducuna’s a talented player but couldn’t handle the pressure & quit when she was losing… https://t.co/EH0zHWpDKH— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1625564206
Though actual tennis player Andy Murray tweeted that his unsolicited commentary was “a very harsh take on the situation.”
Think this is a very harsh take on the situation Piers https://t.co/rGuWC5ScDT— Andy Murray (@Andy Murray) 1625573117
Gary Lineker, former footballer and current sports broadcaster, then quote-tweeted Morgan’s take, pointing out the irony of his statement.
“Happens to the best of us, even those that aren’t suffering from a possible injury or illness,” they wrote, attaching a screenshot of Morgan storming off the set of Good Morning Britain when the conversation wasn’t going his way.
Happens to the best of us, even those that aren’t suffering from a possible injury or illness.… https://t.co/70yq4AfkiD— Gary Lineker 💙 (@Gary Lineker 💙) 1625570345
That was triggered by co-presenter Alex Beresford saying: “I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle. You’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme... I understand that you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle, or had one, and she cut you off. She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has. But yet you continue to trash her.”
Unable to handle this dialogue, Morgan decided to leave.
“Okay, I’m done with this. Sorry, no. You can trash me, mate, but not on my own show. See you later,” he said as he stormed off set.
“That’s pathetic. This is absolutely diabolical behaviour,” Alex Beresford said of Morgan’s fit.
It seems it was really Mr. Morgan who couldn’t handle the pressure and quit when losing badly.
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