Judy Murray opens up about sexual assault incidents

Last week at the SFWA awards, the keynote speaker reportedly included several sexist and misogynist comments in his speech, prompting BBC presenter Eilidh Barbour and others to walk out.

Ms Murray continued to condemn the behavior, sparking renewed debate about sexism in sports journalism.

Murray is the winner of 64 titles in Scotland during her junior and senior playing career but turned to coaching in the 1980s, coaching her two sons and many players at regional and national level.

In December 2011, Murray was chosen to captain Britain’s Fed Cup team, taking on the job in part to raise the profile of women coaches and to challenge some of the sexism she says it harbors still present in the sport.

The incident Ms Murray alleges happened at an after-dinner panel for a “major educational institution” and involved a “very senior person in that organization”.

Speaking to the Sunday Post, Ms Murray said she felt “sick in the stomach” after the incident as she said a man put his hand first on her knee and then on her trousers.

“Towards the end of the meal it was clear he had been drinking quite a bit and he put his hand on my knee first.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I took his hand away and leaned over to pour myself some water, and as I did, he ran his hand down my pants.

“At that point I got up and went straight to the bathroom. I wanted to throw up. It shook me so much. I sat on the toilet for ages and decided to give the speech – the show has to go on and all – but I didn’t go back into the room until I knew it was time for me to go on stage.

“Once I had done my bit, I went back to the table, grabbed my bag and left. I haven’t spoken to anyone. The incident left me feeling sick to my stomach for a long time.”

“A great reminder that there is still so much work to be done to make our game an equal place.”

It’s not yet known exactly what was said at the awards dinner, but Women in Journalism co-chair Gabriella Bennett also took to the social media platform to say that a “keynote speaker’s speech” was full of “sexist and racist jokes”.

Bennett also said her table left the awards dinner at the same time as Barbour’s table.

The SFWA has since apologized for the speech, which left many attendees shocked and offended.