BBC Reporter Makes Sexist Remark About Wimbledon Champ

First-time Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli should be celebrating her success at the all England Tennis Club.

Instead, she is having to defend her looks after a BBC reporter made an uncalled-for remark about her.

Radio Five Alive's John Inverdale said that Bartoli's father probably told her, “You’re never going to be a looker – you’ll never be a Sharapova – so you have to be scrappy and fight."

How insulting is that? The response on Twitter went from outraged to plain nastiness towards the 28-year-old.

Inverdale tried to apologize for the comment, but he isn't the first nor last commentator to make such stupidly insensitive comments.

Venus and Serena Williams have always had to put up with snide asides about their looks from the time they started playing tennis. Both have been accused of looking too 'manly' or playing like men, especially when they defeated the likes of Maria Sharapova or Anna Kournikova who just so happened to be cover-girl blondes.

Martina Navratilova also was accused of the the same thing, and of course, many people harped on her sexuality, too.

But despite the unjust criticism, all three of these ladies continued to win and win big while garnering big endorsement deals. The Williams sisters have become the Tiger Woods of tennis.

They managed to parlay their success into a reality TV show, documentaries about their lives, and started their own businesses.

Navratilova had a documentary recently done about her and her friendship with Chris Evert. She has also written books about staying healthy and appeared on Dancing with the Stars. 

Some people may be making fun of Bartoli's looks, but in the end she'll have the last laugh. She's no doubt happy and more successful than most of her superficial detractors will ever be.

What's more, there is no uniform code for attractiveness. Dean Martin, that smooth-singing sage said it best, Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.

So keep personal preferences out of reporting when it has nothing to do with the event.