Another Channel 7 Commentator Has Apologised For A Weirdly Racist Remark
"Human lamingtons"
Yet another Australian sports commentator has accidentally said something baffling and racist in the midst of a live broadcast, and oh man, why does this keep happening?
Former Olympian Kerri Pottharst was commentating on Channel 7’s coverage of the Commonwealth Games beach volleyball when she said a pair of Caribbean athletes covered in sand looked like “human lamingtons”.
Viewers were understandably not impressed, and took to social media to slam Pottharst’s bizarre comment as offensive and insulting.
Did one of the Channel 7 commentators of the Commonwealth Games earlier refer to international black athletes competing in beach volleyball resembling a ‘human lamington’ when they landed into the sand? I wouldn’t be surprised either given it’s @Channel7 #GC2018
— Hanan Dover (@HananDover1) April 8, 2018
holy fucking shit watching live @7CommGames coverage of beach volleyball and the commentator just said the dark skin from the player mixed with sand made him look like a human lamington get thAT WOMAN OFF THE AIR
— REBEKAH DURKIN (@rebekahdurkin) April 8, 2018
Australian racism is a unique brand. Human lamington?? I never thought I would hear such a thing in my life https://t.co/9NTL6c8nyI
— elyssa adwards (@sydalg_) April 8, 2018
Pottharst has since apologised for the comments, saying “‘I made a comment I unreservedly apologise for and sincerely regret”, and that “it was 100 percent not meant to offend”.
This isn’t the first time a Channel 7 commentator has casually dropped a line like this on air and then said it wasn’t meant to offend. In February, a commentator at the Winter Olympics said it was difficult to tell Chinese aerial skiers apart because “they all look the same”, a comment that was similarly met with outrage from viewers.
At the time, Channel 7 defended the commentator in question, saying she was talking about the athletes’ technique, not their appearance, and that she didn’t intend to be racist.
Feature image via Kerri Pottharst on Twitter.