Raducanu worthy of proper respect
When racking his brain for an appropriate reference point, a story of a young athlete whose career plummeted after appearing to believe their own hype, it is surprising that Eddie Jones’s thoughts would turn to tennis.
There are plenty of perfect examples to illustrate the perils of fame in rugby union.
From punch-ups on tour, to drunken incidents, as well as disappointing showings on the pitch, the names of any number of male rugby stars – even some who have played for Jones’s England – could have sprung to mind.
But instead, when sharing very
Not only was Jones’s take rude, unfair, sexist and factually incorrect, it was lazy
public advice to England breakout star Marcus Smith on Saturday, Jones offered this: “The big thing for good young players is distractions. There’s a reason why the young girl who won the US Open hasn’t done so well afterwards. What have you seen her on – the front page of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar or whatever, wearing Christian Dior clothes. All that is a distraction around her.”
The snide swipe at Emma Raducanu was so unnecessary and contextually irrelevant, you have to wonder what possessed Jones to pick on her. But, as we have seen before, there is no shortage of middle-aged men ready to offer unwarranted commentary when it comes to Raducanu’s career.
There is a lot to unpack here, but let us begin with putting some respect on Raducanu’s name – which Jones failed even to remember. At 18, she made history by becoming the first qualifier to win a grand slam title, and did so without even dropping a set. More than 11 million tuned in to watch the jaw-dropping moment, her face was on the front page of every major newspaper, and it is very likely many more people in the UK know her name than do Smith’s – or even Jones’s.
Even daring to liken Smith’s impressive performance for England on Saturday to Raducanu’s other-worldly achievement in New York does a disservice to her. Twenty-eight minutes in an international friendly against an inferior Tonga side – however stellar those minutes were – is hardly comparable to the most unlikely individual sporting victory this century.
In referring to Raducanu – an adult – as a “young girl”, Jones was not only being patronising but sexist. Any woman who has been referred to as “girl”, “love” or “darling” in certain contexts, often by senior-positioned men, can attest to how demeaning, disrespectful and humiliating it can feel.
That Jones was using Raducanu as an example of an athlete of diminished form is also laughable, and evidence of how ill-informed he is. Since the US Open, she has won two matches and lost three, hardly cause for crisis and and her injury-hampered loss at the Linz Open last night showed plenty of the fight and quality she brings to the court as she takes the time she needs to establish herself on tour.
Then comes the predictable part, dismissing Raducanu’s savvy foray into fashion as a “distraction”. As frivolous as Jones may believe it to be, the Vogue photoshoot (which actually preceded her US Open win) and her appearance at the James Bond premiere wearing a sparkling Christian Dior dress helped Raducanu tap into a multi-billion pound industry, earning her various lucrative endorsement deals.
Not only was his take unfair, rude, sexist and factually incorrect, it was lazy. We have seen this so many times. As Jo Durie rightly pointed out, while there are very few instances of sportsmen being called out for harmlessly attending a swanky event or enjoying the benefits of their success on the field through endorsement deals, there are countless women in sport who are criticised for doing the same.
Raducanu joins a long list, including Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, who have been subjected to this outdated double standard that fails to acknowledge the fewer opportunities women in sport have to bank on their achievements in the first place.
It is highly likely Raducanu will not even give Jones’s comments a second thought, as on Sunday she insisted she did not read about herself online or in the media. She also reiterated where her priorities lay, saying off-court commitments came second to her training. For some, her words will not matter.
Even in the week Raducanu breaks into the world’s top 20, all it takes is a blip for detractors to bark: “I told you so!” But as a coach in a sport crying out for new audiences, Jones would do well to encourage his players to widen rugby union’s appeal in any way they can – even if that means appearing in a fashion magazine “or whatever”.