John Inverdale is an ass, and Andy Murray is terrific:
Following tennis player Andy Murray's second consecutive Olympic gold medal win Sunday night, casual sexism reared its ugly head once again in a post-game interview.BOOM! Murray's response—which is what anyone in his position should have said, but we all know damn well how rare it is all the same—got kudos from lots of people, including First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon.
According to the Evening Standard, when BBC reporter John Inverdale praised Murray for being the first "person" to win two Olympic medals in tennis, Murray interjected with a gentle reminder that women are people too.
"You're the first person ever to win two Olympic tennis gold medals," Inverdale said. "That's an extraordinary feat, isn't it?"
"I think Venus and Serena [Williams] have won about four each," he said.
Doing some on-the-spot fact-checking, Murray clarified he had only made history for being the first to win two consecutive gold medals for the singles title, not in Olympic tennis overall. Indeed, Venus and Serena Williams each have one gold in tennis singles and three in doubles, the latter hardware earned as a team.
Yet another reason to love Andy Murray... https://t.co/qWPaIIkNmx
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) August 15, 2016
Murray didn't come to this moment by accident. He has long had a female coach, Amélie Mauresmo, and seeing up close the "criticism and prejudice" she has faced on the basis of her gender affected him: "Have I become a feminist? Well, if being a feminist is about fighting so that a woman is treated like a man then yes, I suppose I have."
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