Sky suspend F1 pundits after sexist comments live on air
Two Sky Italia commentators have been suspended after making sexist comments during the channel’s coverage of the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. Matto Bobbi and Davide Valsecchi made the remarks during live post-race coverage in Barcelona for Italian broadcaster Sky Sport. Referring to a woman in the background in the paddock, Bobbi, who was speaking from a separate studio, described her as an “upgrade package.” Valsecchi looked behind him and replied: “I know, but they told me I can’t test them. So I raise my hands.” Alongside Valsecchi was host Federica Masolin, who looked uncomfortable as the conversation progressed. She then interjected: “I ask for political asylum. Can’t we watch some interviews instead of listening to these two? Let’s hear from Carlos Sainz, please. I’m going to censor you two.” She then later read out a viewer’s comment on air, asking: “Will we see them [Bobbi and Valsecchi] safe and sound again at the next grand prix after these comments – that will be greatly appreciated by their wives?” Bobbi replied: “I think I’ll get a beating if I go home,” while Valsecchi said: “Well you know I’ve had eye surgery twice because I’ve been losing sight since I was a child, looking at those things.” Both have since apologised for their remarks but Sky Italia told The Guardian that Bobbi and Valsecchi have been “temporarily suspended” and will not work during the next race, the Canadian Grand Prix. Bobbi said: “I sincerely apologise to anyone who may have felt offended and wish to reiterate my total and profound respect for everyone and for women. “For 10 years, I have been commenting on F1 with friends from Sky, who have become like a family to me now and, in 10 years, I have never found myself in such an unpleasant situation. “I’ve always thought that you learn, understand and start again from your mistakes. What happened will lead me to try to improve further as a man and as a professional.” Valsecchi posted on Instagram: “I’m very sorry because, on Sunday, after the race, I exchanged some jokes that were in bad taste and used inappropriate and disrespectful words. “And I’m not like this. I would really like to apologise to those who felt offended, to women and to Sky.” Bobbi was a test driver for Minardi in the 2000s while Valsecchi won GP2 – now known as F2 – in 2012 but did not land a Formula 1 race seat. Read More F1 makes South African Grand Prix call for 2024 calendar F1 gives Canadian Grand Prix update after wildfires cause smoke to descend on Montreal F1 makes South African Grand Prix call for 2024 calendar F1 gives Canadian Grand Prix update after smoke descends on Montreal Lewis Hamilton: 18 months, 12 podiums and an elusive race victory
2023-06-09 22:22
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Broadcasting veteran Anne Diamond reveals breast cancer diagnosis
Broadcasting veteran Anne Diamond has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The GB News presenter said she had received the diagnosis the same day as finding out she was to be made OBE. After beginning her career in regional news, Diamond went on to work for both ITV and the BBC, becoming a star of daytime TV in the 1980s and 1990s. She presented programmes like BBC One’s Good Morning with Anne And Nick, TV-am’s Good Morning Britain and TV Weekly. She joined GB News in 2022 to host weekend breakfast shows with Stephen Dixon, though has been off air for six months. Speaking to GB News’ Dan Wootton, she revealed she had undergone a double mastectomy in her “fight against breast cancer”, which she described as “a long journey”. “I haven’t been on a world cruise, which is what I know social media has been saying… because I’m well known now for loving cruises,” she said. “It’s been a fight against breast cancer. That’s what it’s been. It’s been a long journey. And five months later, I’m still not at the end of the journey, but I’m through it enough to come back to work.” Diamond recalled how she had learned the news on the same morning she was told via email that she had been awarded an OBE for her campaigning on cot deaths. She and her then-husband Mike Hollingsworth lost their son Sebastian in 1990 after he died from sudden infant death syndrome (Sids) – commonly called cot death. Diamond joined forces with the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID), now known as The Lullaby Trust, and the Department of Health to launch the successful Back to Sleep campaign. She was made OBE in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to public health and charity. “It was a wonderful moment and that was like 9.30 in the morning,” she told GB News. “But I knew then, because I’d already seen my GP, that I had to go to a breast cancer screening thing later in the morning. I thought I would just go for a mammogram, and a couple of tests and I’d be free in an hour. “I spent the entire morning at my local hospital where they did everything, biopsies, X-rays, CT scans, a couple of mammograms, everything, and by lunchtime I was still there. “And a lovely lady came with a lanyard around her neck that said MacMillan Cancer Care and I knew then it was serious.” Diamond added that she did not have advice for others as she was “still going through it”, but added that she was “well enough” to return to work. The presenter said she has had a full mastectomy and a “load of radiotherapy”. “So it’s been a journey, but I’m not pretending for a minute that I am extraordinary, because I am fully aware that a quarter of women in this country are going through what I’ve just gone through and I don’t have any advice to give. Diamond will return to GB News on Saturday to host Breakfast with Dixon. Read More Chris Hemsworth thanks wife Elsa Pataky for her ‘forgiveness’ Mother sparks debate after ‘shaming’ parent who wouldn’t give her daughter a slice of birthday cake Prince Harry – latest: Duke lands in California after ‘last stay’ in Frogmore following bombshell testimony Everything we know about Jamie Foxx’s health condition 7 things fitness experts want you to know about exercise during a heatwave The £4 hay fever tablet that ‘cures all symptoms’
2023-06-09 18:17
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Judy Murray: More needs to be done to protect athletes from abuses of power
More needs to be done to protect sportswomen from the abuse of power from coaches and other key figures in their professional life, Judy Murray has said. While the tennis coach, and mother of Wimbledon stars Andy and Jamie Murray, welcomed measures taken within the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) – which recently appointed a director of safeguarding in an increased effort to protect professional athletes from predatory coaches – she said further action is needed in the industry as a whole. “I think it’s up to all of the individual governing bodies to have someone in that head of safeguarding role that, whether you’re a coach, a parent, a player or in sports science, when you see something or if something happens to you, you know that that’s the group you go to, that’s the person you speak to, it will be treated in confidence but there will be action taken from it,” Murray told PA Media. “I think we’ve all seen a lot of brushing under the carpet over the years. And often you don’t know who to go to, and even if you do go to someone, you’re concerned: ‘Is it going to affect my selection for the team or my funding?’” The former Scottish No 1 player and long-time coach, 63, was speaking while promoting her debut novel, The Wild Card. The book centres on a fictional professional tennis player, who is manipulated by her coach during her earlier career as a 17-year-old into a sexual relationship, fearing that he will ditch her if she doesn’t comply. “For me, having been round the women’s tour, it’s a very male-dominated domain in terms of the coaches and you realise that the young players in particular, they’re travelling all the time, they’re away from home, the coach becomes a crutch, not just a coach. You actually assume a parent role, a friend role,” Murray added. “It’s very easy for players to become dependent on coaches, and fall into something that they don’t really understand and feel they can’t get out of.” She said she welcomed the wider awareness created by athletes who have come forward about their own experiences, citing the case of multiple Olympic gold medal-winning US gymnast Simone Biles, one of many women sexually abused by former team doctor Larry Nassar (who was subsequently jailed for 40-plus years). “Over the last few years, we’ve seen examples in several sports of players/performers telling about what’s happened to them in terms of abuse of trust and abuse of power, none more so than Simone Biles and other gymnasts with the US doctor, which went on for years,” said Murray. “It [the US gymnasts’ case] encouraged more people to speak out, and highlights the need for ensuring that those in positions of power within sport are suitably qualified, vetted and insured, and also that somebody is accountable to somebody else. “It makes such a big impact when top athletes like Simone Biles speak out about what’s happened to them,” Murray continued. “And it gives confidence to others to come out and talk and to share, and it is about raising awareness. “But at the end of the day, you can raise awareness, but you need somebody to act on that. And that is starting to happen, but it’s probably still in its relative infancy.” The Wild Card by Judy Murray is published by Orion, priced £14.99. Available now. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Nearly half UK adults believe LGBTQ+ representation important in storytelling – study What to wear to Glastonbury this year 11 ways to work white into your interiors
2023-06-09 14:54
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