Comments made by England rugby coach Eddie Jones about US Open champion Emma Raducanu has been labelled “sexist” by former British player Jo Durie.
Speaking after England’s 69-3 thumping of Tonga, Jones was discussing star England five-eighth Marcus Smith and suggested he stay away from off-field distractions, when he drew a comparison with Raducanu.
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“There’s a reason why the young girl who won the US Open hasn’t done so well afterwards,” Jones said. “What have you seen her on? The front page of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar or whatever, wearing Christian Dior clothes.”
Jones’ hot take has sparked a furore among Britain’s sporting landscape, with several female athletes across different sports calling out Jones’ “sexist comments”.
Durie, the former world No.5 women’s player, took issue with the phrase “young girl” and that “no one ever complains about blokes going to galas; it’s always something that is thrown at women”.
“Emma isn’t a girl; she is an 18-year-old woman,” Durie told London’s The Telegraph. “Unfortunately, when you’re this famous, everybody likes to have their opinion about you.
“I don’t know her well myself, but she seems to have a good head on her shoulders and she just needs to play for at least a season and get used to life on the tour before anyone expects anything else from her.”
Gold medallist Kate Richardson-Walsh, a former captain of the Great Britain hockey team was also critical of how Jones addressed the topic.
“It’s certainly important for everyone to think about distractions … It’s also really important not to be an ill-informed, patronising, hypocritical misogynist,” she wrote.
Tennis coach Judy Murray, the mother of former world No.1 Andy Murray, said the comments highlighted what female athletes are up against.
“For one thing, Jones clearly couldn’t remember her name,” she said. “Calling her ‘the young girl’ sounded dismissive. For another, Emma’s journey from doing A-levels in the summer to winning the US Open is so extraordinary that she hasn’t had time to catch up with what has happened. Of course she isn’t a seasoned pro yet.
“But what teenager wouldn’t want to enjoy a bit of her success by going to events and getting involved with fashion brands. Even now, Emma has only played two more events since the US Open. Her story isn’t remotely comparable to what Jones is talking about.”
Rugby player James Haskell defended Jones, saying the reaction highlighted the desperate nature of the “cancel mob.”
“Honestly how you think this is sexist is beyond me. It’s a point about distraction and the pitfalls of fame; that can happen to anyone. I can see you desperately want to incite the cancel mob, but you are going to need to do better than that.”
Raducanu, who has won two of her four matches since lifting the US Open trophy on September 11, has broken into the top 20 and is currently competing at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz event.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, the Brit addressed concerns about her off-court schedule and her coaching situation, confirming she’ll have someone in place for the Australian Open.
“I have been quite busy since the US Open,” Raducanu said. “I’ve been really enjoying everything [but] I made it very, very clear to every single person in my team that I was not going to cancel one training session or practice session for any off-court commitments. That was a non-negotiable.
“I’m here on my own, I’m being my own coach again this week, which I think is really good for me long-term. I’m really feeling positive about my coaching situation, it’s in a good place. I’ll have a coach in place at the Australian Open.”
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