The BBC has come under fire for hiring Nick Kyrgios as a Wimbledon pundit after he admitted last year to assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
The 2022 Wimbledon runner-up is unlikely to play at this year’s tournament as he is still recovering from injury and has instead been lined up to work for the Beeb, whose chief content officer Charlotte Moore joked on Wednesday that ‘anything could happen’.
However, the broadcaster’s Kyrgios coup has been criticised by women’s campaigners given the Australian pleaded guilty to pushing Chiara Passari onto a pavement in Canberra in 2021, although avoided a criminal conviction.
‘The BBC should hang its head in shame at this appointment,’ said Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP and women and equalities committee chair. ‘It’s a disgrace and shows the utter contempt our national broadcaster has towards women.
‘Not content with consistently underpaying their own female staff and forcing out women once they hit a certain age, they now bring a man who admitted assaulting a woman on board for Wimbledon.’
The BBC has come under fire for hiring Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios as a Wimbledon pundit
Kyrgios admitted last year to assaulting ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari (left) in 2021 but avoided a criminal conviction
The former Wimbledon runner-up could still play at this year’s competition if he has recovered from injury
Jamie Klingler, co-founder of the Reclaim These Streets campaign group, added: ‘It’s amazing how quickly we are willing to dismiss violence against women as long as the man perpetrating that violence is good at hitting a ball.’
Kyrgios has a reputation as the bad boy of tennis, having received multiple fines for racket abuse and audible obscenities throughout his colourful career.
During his Wimbledon final defeat to Novak Djokovic two years ago, BBC commentator Andrew Castle was even forced to issue an on-air apology when the Aussie hothead was heard loudly swearing in front of a crowd which included Prince George.
Kyrgios has been restricted to just one competitive match since October 2022 – a first round defeat at last June’s Stuttgart Open – because of wrist, knee and foot injuries.
The 29-year-old was not included on the initial entry list for this year’s Wimbledon released on Tuesday, although he could still seek a wild card if he was fit.
Kyrgios insisted last month that he still had the ‘fire in the belly’ to reignite his career and posted a video of him training on hard courts in Australia this week.
But he also impressed when he worked as a co-commentator for Eurosport during the Australian Open, something which was clearly noted by the BBC, who will now use him as a pundit in July as long as he is not playing at SW19.
The Beeb also revealed on Wednesday that former England captain Wayne Rooney will be one of their pundits for Euro 2024.
Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP and women and equalities committee chair labelled the BBC’s decision as a ‘disgrace’
Kyrgios has been restricted to just one competitive match since October 2022 due to injuries
The 29-year-old has previously impressed on punditry duties for other broadcasters
Ex-England goalkeeper Joe Hart, former West Ham manager David Moyes and Brentford boss Thomas Frank are the other new names announced in their line-up.
They will join the BBC’s established tournament pundits including Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Micah Richards and Cesc Fabregas.
Later in the summer, Team GB’s most successful female athlete, Dame Laura Kenny, will be part of the BBC’s coverage of the Paris Olympics. The 32-year-old announced her retirement from track cycling in March after winning five Olympic gold medals.
Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy will also be part of the Beeb’s team despite announcing in February that he was battling cancer.
