BBC addresses complaints that Wimbledon final commentary 'favored' Novak Djokovic

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The BBC has released a statement after receiving complaints over how their commentary team analyzed the moment Novak Djokovic destroyed his racket against the net post in the Wimbledon final. In the days since the Wimbledon final, the BBC seemingly received a notable number of complaints from people who felt their commentary team "favored Djokovic or condoned the Serb's behavior" after he destroyed his racket. Andrew Castle, a former British tennis player, was the lead commentator and said on air that it was "understandable how upset Djokovic would be". In a statement released, the BBC underlined that Djokovic's behavior was also condemned on air and that it was pointed out how those actions could lead to the Serb finding himself in a very dangerous position. 

The BBC statement on the complaints about the Djokovic racket smash 

"There was no intention to condone Djokovic’s behaviour when hitting the net post with his racket. Instead, while Andrew Castle highlighted that Djokovic’s anger and frustration was 'understandable' at such a crucial point in the match, it was also made clear that this behaviour is wrong, and that Djokovic rightly received a conduct violation for it. Andrew also highlighted that such behaviour can be dangerous, looking back at a similar instance with Djokovic, stating; 'Disqualified at the US Open in 2020 after unintentionally hitting a line judge. That was a dangerous moment for a lot of reasons'. We recognise how these comments came across to some however, and we’ve shared this with the programme team. Throughout the final, our team shared their analysis and praise for both players. They praised Alcaraz for such performances at such a young age, for the variety in his game, and Andrew did include particular praise of Alcaraz’s game too," the BBC's statement read.

Meanwhile, Djokovic suffered a five-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. After the final, Djokovic said him smashing the racket in the fifth set was a moment of frustration.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/yZEtvAM

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