Opinionated and controversial British media personality Piers Morgan (formerly of the News of the World, the Daily Mirror and CNN, currently of the Daily Mail‘s Mail Online) and ITV’s Good Morning Britain has had plenty of run-ins with sports figures, and they usually haven’t gone well for him. The latest followed that pattern, with Morgan (seen above at May’s BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am) criticizing tennis star Martina Navratilova’s comments on Marin Čilić losing Sunday’s Wimbledon final, and then promptly getting owned by the internet. First, here’s what Morgan said Monday about Čilić (who fell 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 to Federer Sunday, and had to call a doctor for blister treatment in the second set):
Get a grip, Cilic.
You don't sob like a baby because you're losing. That's pathetic. #WimbledonFinals pic.twitter.com/xF8wB5a9mv— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 16, 2017
Čilić himself said the tears were about being unable to perform his best, not the pain, and Navratilova later endorsed that. Morgan then went after her:
what none of you get is that Cilic cried because he couldn't play his best
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) July 18, 2017
No, he cried because he was getting thrashed. Champions play through blisters… https://t.co/VvuJZVGSOe
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 18, 2017
Yes, Morgan knows so much about athletic performance and playing through pain. This tweet did not go over well.
Mansplaining tennis to someone that won 59 grand slam titles. pic.twitter.com/W3H9jVSjyw
— joe heenan (@joeheenan) July 19, 2017
He only gets blisters on his tongue
— Jacqui S (@JacquiCooksFood) July 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/stedanchick/status/887421248233512960
I'm pretty sure @Martina knows all about what it takes to be a Wimbledon champion, so I'll take her opinion over yours every day of the week
— Lescoleen (@Lescoleen67) July 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/ColinMHolmes/status/887418404029771779
https://twitter.com/LSUcaligrl/status/887757570630336512
Even Chris Evert weighed in:
What a jerky thing to say…. https://t.co/wzh3CSmhdp
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) July 19, 2017
Once again, Piers Morgan wades into sports, and once again, he takes the L.
[Joe Heenan on Twitter]