Jon Wertheim's hollow apology does little to respect Barbora Krejcikova

Apologies are easy. They are obviously a reaction to a mistake that has been made. The difficult part should have been making the mistake in the first place. Jon Wertheim recently had to make an apology for a remark he made in reference to WTA player Barbora Krejcikova. He probably only apologized because he was caught making his mistake.

The thing is, Wertheim's disrespect of Krejcikova was too easy. Had the snippet of him saying what he said did not go live on the air, he wouldn't have apologized. He still should not have made the reference he did, and no matter how many people heard the comment - even three people in a TV control room - Wertheim's comments were callous. He should have thought before he spoke.

Many people don't think before they speak, though, at least when it comes to making an off-color remark about someone's appearance or personality. It is the low-hanging fruit, especially when someone cannot directly defend themselves. As this relates to Krejcikova, she never needed to feel the need to defend herself.

Jon Wertheim gives worthless apology about comments made about Barbora Krejcikova

Wertheim laid bare in a social media apology what happened. It was a well-worded apology. The kind of someone who knows they did wrong and then wants to make sure their "sorry" was precise and calculated. Ultimately, they want to save face, so the apology is more about them than the person they verbally assaulted.

Wertheim wrote, in part, "What happened? I joined the (Tennis Channel show) by zoom. In rehearsal we were shown a graphic of a player (Krejcikova) who had just competed. It showed her at an angle that exaggerated her forehead. A few moments later, I was told to frame up my zoom. I looked at the low camera angle and joked that it made my forehead resemble the photo of the player in question. Someone in the control room chimed in and I bantered back. Though this was a private rehearsal, this exchange inadvertently, and without context, made it to live air."

Let's be clear here. Who cares what the context is? Even if the "context" was known, it was still offensive to Krejcikova. It's also odd how Wertheim's apology does not name Krejcikova directly because that is ultimately who he owes an apology to.

Krejcikova also responded on social media by saying, "You might have heard about the recent comments made on Tennis Channel during the WTA Finals coverage that focused on my appearance rather than my performance. As an athlete who has dedicated herself to this sport, it was disappointing to see this type of unprofessional commentary. This isn’t the first time something like this is happening in 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..."

Wertheim went on to say that he understands he is not the "victim" and he will strive to be better. One might wonder how many other off-color remarks Wertheim has made that the tennis-loving public doesn't know. He had to say I was sorry because he got caught. In the future, maybe he should simply think how he could potentially - and unfairly - offend an innocent person. Only then can he prove himself to be a better person.

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