BBC PRESENTER JOHN Humphrys has been criticised for questioning if tennis star Johanna Konta — a British citizen and Team GB athlete — is truly British.
The 26-year-old, who reached the semi-final stages of Wimbledon last week, was interviewed on the Today programme on Radio 4 earlier.
When questioned, Konta clarified that she had lived in the country for half of her life, and that she had represented Team GB at the Olympics.
“We talk about you as being British, but you were born in Hungary, Australian citizenship,” Humphrys said to the British number one.
“And I seem to remember that the Australian high commissioner, when you won the quarter-final, said ‘great to see an Aussie win.’ And we were saying: ‘great to see a Brit win.’
“So, what are you?”
Laughing, slightly nervously, Konta answered: “I was actually born in Australia to Hungarian parents.
“But I’ve lived half my life here now, almost, so I’m a British citizen, and I’m incredibly proud to represent Great Britain. I have done so officially since 2012 but, definitively, I have personally since 2005 when I moved here.
“I’ve also represented Great Britain at the Olympics, so I’m definitely a British athlete.”
Listeners of the show took to Twitter to defend Konta, while the shadow sports minister, Rosena Allin-Khan, referred to Humphrys’ line of questioning as ‘insensitive’.
“Britain is made greater by the rich cultural mix we are blessed to have. In sport, Johanna Konta is a shining example of this,” she told the Guardian.
“John Humphrys is an experienced journalist, but he has been insensitive here. We have a rich tapestry of people from diverse backgrounds, all of whom identify as and are proud to call themselves British – myself included.”
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Now the world number four, Konta’s ability at a young age was also questioned by the veteran presenter.
“You were, so I read, the 388th best junior in Australia. Now, normally, people wouldn’t look at you and say: ‘Ah, she is a future champion.’
“So, what do you think was it about you that attracted people’s attention?” he asked.
She dealt with the question cooly again, laughing “That’s not entirely accurate as well because, actually, I won the under 12s nationals in Australia when I was a youngster, so I was definitely one of the best in the country.
“But that’s the way it is with sport. There’s a lot of things that become misleading or are half-truths. But, again, I’ve had a great journey and I’m really enjoying my tennis where it is now and I’m enjoying the work I’m doing with the team I have around me.”
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In fairness she isn’t British.
@Mike Flannery: Joe Carbery moved to Ireland at 12, so he is not Irish? this happens in many instances. She has lived half her life in the UK went to secondary school in the UK and was developed by the UK Tennis federation. It is not like she play for another country and changed.
@Mike Flannery: not only is she British, but she has actually chosen to be British.
I would say she’s more British than mo farah.
@Kenneth o brien: Let her be British if she wants. Rory McIlroy says “he feels more British than Irish” but I don’t see many Irish people claiming he’s not British. Oh hold on a second…..
@Cathal: most Irish people are pretty indifferent about Rory mcillroy, since his Olympics debacle.
@Cathal: he’s Northern Irish
@ktsiwot: Throw in Ronan O’Gara, Seán Óg O’ hAilpín, Ray Houghton for this country, Saoirse Ronan and Chris de Burgh for non-sporting examples.
@Mike Flannery: One can become a citizen of any country by pledging allegiance to that country, integrating and respecting its values. Ethnicity & citizenship are not synonymous
@AR Devine: My favourite sporting moment was , Harry carpenter commentating on a Barry McGuigan fight , ” and the Briton is doing well ” punch to Mcguigan which puts him down ” and the Irishman is down”
O’Gara was born in the states to two Irish parents and moved back to Ireland as a toddler, you might as well call Heaslip Israeli
@Paul Fahey: ah sure Mo Farah is British too, they claim credit for almost everybody
@PolyglotPaul: exactly, Tony Cascarino did not even qualify under the grand parent rule and many other Irish soccer and Rugby players are second and third generation Irish. Then there is the residency rule in Rubgy of 3 years being increased to 5, Konta is surely more British than these examples.
@P C: not true, one of Mo’ s grandparents were born in a British protectorate and his father was born in London.
@ktsiwot: cascarino did. The grandparent rule covered legal adoptions.
@ktsiwot: yep, Joe Carbery is as Irish as Tony Cascarino
@PolyglotPaul: Don’t forget Dev. Or St. Patrick.
@Jamie: whats northern irish ???
@Paul Fahey: Easy as that, eh? There are people born and raised in the UK, contributing all their lives, who aren’t being allowed by the Home Office to “choose” to be british. She’s a mercenary who probably realised she’d get more grants from UK tennis than Australia or Hungary. I wonder do her parents get to choose to be british too?
@Kenneth o brien: read his quote
I doubt they’d have been asking the question if she won.
@Rochelle: to fair they would most British people I know found it all embarrassing and hoped she was gonna lose..
@Rochelle: “he” not “they” and he is being lambasted for it, and rightly so.
@Rochelle: its a fair question. Weve had our own athletes questioning the nationalities of Turkey par example
@Shawn O’Ceallaghan: Irish Dan Martin is holding his own in the Tour De France , wait a minute , the Brit has dropped back to 25th .
@Paul Fahey: you really are one of the great offended. Konta is no more British than her parents. Cop on
If the girl had any sense she would have stayed in Australia, a much better country.
@James Jones: arrogant Aussies + we would be nothing without Britain.
@Ollie Watson: We were nothing under their jackboot for centuries, only since joining the EEC/EU has this country actually become something, you’re talking out your hole
Pc brigade having another field day, get a life
Fair play to a UK journalist asking a valid question for once instead of towing the Sue Barker line.
We are getting to the stage now where the permanently outraged will stop all questions being asked in fear of offence.
Jebus he only asked where she comes from
What passes for news these days!! Simpletons get upset, tweet and the media run with it as a story.
@Skip Goose: I can’t like that enough. There’s a simmering bubble of intolerance and facism coming from a supposed “left”…fuelled by an over-powerful over-opinionated media.
One might argue that this lady is merely reporting the facts, and encouraging a discussion, but it’s the choice of this as an idea for a story, in the first place, that I question.
It’s in the backdrop of tennis’s equal pay issues, Andy Murray’s “heroic” patronising of a reporter who was obviously referring to the men’s game and now an Aussie born of Hungarian parentage being asked what she felt she was internationally. If Sue Barker had asked the question, would this be a story?
Who cares? Andy Murray is British when he is winning and Scottish when he losses
@john barnes: Are you Jamaican or English John? Some player in your day all the same.
Are we in an age where asking someone what nationality they consider themselves is “insensitive”? Think it’s a valid question.
Remember our last great British tennis player called Greg from Canada
Not British. Neither was Greg Rusedski, Mo Farah, zola budd to name a few.
@Paul Coughlan:
Mo Farah is British. He moved to Britain when he was young and he has British citizenship and also represents TEAM GB. so yes he is British.
@Just Some Guy: No he’s not fool.
@Enda McCallion:
Mo Farah is British. He clearly identifies himself as British. cop on you don’t have a clue.
@Just Some Guy: Identifying yourself as British doesn’t ACTUALLY make you British. You know that’s not how nationalities work, right?
I don’t buy into the whole if you are from Swaziland but live here for a couple of years you are Irish suddenly. I mean it is basic common sense.
@Séamus Longshanks: Or the famous Danish runner Wilson Kosgei Kipketer
Chris Froome????
Ahem , Tony Cascarino , now leave well enough alone , she’s as British as prince Philip …
Another day, another thing for people on the internet to be outraged about.
If she had won, they’d be claiming her as being British whole heartedly!
That seems like a fair enough question to me. She said she lived half her life in Australia so it makes sense to ask, he wasn’t saying she wasn’t British just asking what way she felt
Mo Farrah moved to Britain aged 10 i believe without a word of English! To be fair i live in Australia and during the Aus open i had no idea she was British until an English friend pointed it out to me so I reckon its a valid question as im sure some people without too much interest in Tennis wouldn’t have known her backstory either… only problem i have with the questions is that he got some of his facts wrong!
She seems to be a nice character but I don’t blame the interviewer asking the question because of her Hungarian and Australian connections which would put doubt in many minds especially since Murray is likely Scottish again at this stage in the Brit rag mag media.
She became British in 2012. How is she truly British.
outstanding!
If she was Irish she would have been claimed as British……
All our ancestors where British .
@Tommy Whelan: Learn to spell fool.
@Tommy Whelan: And all theirs were???
@Enda McCallion: height of ignorance correcting people like that !
@Tommy Whelan: So the Vikings are British are they? Jesus wept.
Tommy Whelan: Before the Napoleonic wars the term British only the Welsh. It was only stretched to include Scots, English and Irish when they wanted to create an inclusive label for the UK in times of war so everyone could die equally named. The name does have origins from Celts so technically you are right. There was probably as much Celtic blood in the UK as there is on Ireland, until recently anyway.
She was a representative of Australia until 23 years old then changed to become a British athlete.
To sum all this up she plays for Britain and represents Britain but she is Australian, same as most of jacks team played for Ireland but most were English/Scottish, you can’t tell me that someone who lives in England born and bred and as soon as jack phoned them at 27/28 they turn Irish overnight?? Really? Same with Konta
@Philip Mckenna: except for the fact that there was an Irish family connection with the players. There’s no British family connection with this girl.
She’s not British in his meaning. Needs to be home born.
If she reached the final she would have been British
I would like to ask her Hungarian parents what they think?
When she wins, she’s British. Where she loses she’s Australian.
This interviewer would never have asked that question of Mo Farah who was born in Somali and is apparently more British than this lady who is white and of Christian heritage. Maybe the name Britain is too excusive perhaps we should start calling it Airstrip One.
Nothing wrong with his questions #snowflakes
Interesting question, and I agree that the guy had the right to ask her origins. Just for clarity. As long as she legally can play for Britain that is fine….but it is a journalistic story to ask where she was born, what is her ethnicity, etc. Because she certainly is not Australian in ethnicity. She is Hungarian. Unless, of course, one of her grandparents are Austrian, for example, but moved to Hungary and married a Hungarian, etc. You would probably need a test from Ancestry.com to find out her true heritage!
A person’s accent is the best nationality id stamp to judge which country they originate from.
Brian: You really think so? I’ve had three strong accents on my life since born. Schools hammer accents in and out On top of that if you speak Dutch with a southern English or even Irish accent in Holland it sounds to many people that you are a South African Boer and that’s not good and attracts venom. You can never tell from an accent where anyone is from.
I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have questioned it had she won
Total non issue. Seems like a reasonable question.
Oh FFS relax lads, I’m so b l o o d y tired of this PC crap it’s beyond ridiculous now!!!
Immediately accept that anyone who looks foreign or has an accent is not foreign or you are racist.
Only shocking