On Monday, July 30, a letter from TVP Sport journalists and famous athletes was published on social media, in which they stand in defense of the suspended Przemysław Babiarz. “It is thanks to his work that viewers following the disciplines he covers choose Polish Television channels, not competing ones. That is why we ask – we, colleagues, but also we, viewers, fans and athletes, to allow Przemysław Babiarz to cover the Olympic Games in Paris,” we read in the letter.
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“[…] Everyone has their own views. Przemysław Babiarz has his own as well. You don’t have to agree with everyone. However, it’s good to have an opinion. It’s also good to have respect for the fact that someone thinks differently. This was the main motto of the opening ceremony of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris: Let’s unite above divisions, let’s respect that we are different. We kindly ask you to return Przemysław Babiarz to work,” concludes the letter addressed to the authorities of Telewizja Polska. The reaction and the first response did not take long to arrive.
Jakub Kwiatkowski responds to a letter from journalists regarding Przemysław Babiarz
Jakub Kwiatkowski, director of TVP Sport, reacted almost immediately. On his profile on the X service, he published a comment in which he responded to the content of the letter from his subordinates and wrote about what had been happening around the suspended commentator in recent days and his silence. This is the second statement that Kwiatkowski has presented.
“In reference to the letter from TVP Sport journalists, I am particularly sorry that I have repeatedly stood up for Przemek Babiarz in recent months, and Przemek has been silent for several days. He has not made any gesture towards anyone. He has not apologized and has put his colleagues from his editorial office in a very uncomfortable situation. I came to TVP with the idea of depoliticizing it and that is what I have been focusing on,” begins the director of TVP Sport.
“Today, I and my loved ones are constantly and ruthlessly attacked by right-wing circles and, to a large extent, PiS politicians who actively participated in the destruction of Telewizja Polska and were beneficiaries of past arrangements. The journalists’ letter itself is an expression of people’s support for their long-time colleague. I understand and respect that. As long as the position they present does not harm or offend anyone, in my opinion it does not constitute anything inappropriate,” adds the former spokesman for the Polish Football Association.
Let us recall that Kwiatkowski first spoke about this scandal on Monday, July 29. He published a post then that heated up emotions surrounding Babiarz even more.”[…] I greatly value and respect Przemysław Babiarz as an outstanding journalist, which does not change the fact that with his commentary he betrayed the mission that was entrusted to us as sports journalists of public television,” wrote the director of TVP Sport.
“A sports commentator should leave the viewer room for their own interpretation, and not impose his narrative. […] I talked about it with Przemek and I believed that he would be able to separate his personal views from his work and do it as best he could. However, this did not happen, so once again I am no longer able to stand in Przemek’s defense and I accepted the decision of the management of Telewizja Polska,” he concluded his statement.
How did the Przemysław Babiarz affair begin? We explain
The whole mess started with the words of a commentator, which were said during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. – A world without heaven, nations and religions. This is a vision of peace that is supposed to encompass everyone. This is a vision of communism, unfortunately – said Babiarz, referring to the song “Imagine”. This moved public opinion to such an extent that TVP suspended its journalist.
This caused an even greater wave of indignation. Other journalists, politicians and viewers reacted. Babiarz’s suspension began to be widely commented on even outside our country. A lot was written about it Germanysharp voices appeared in Russia and we even got opinions straight from the host country of the games, France. Even the government reacted to this scandal President Andrzej Duda himselfand the National Broadcasting Council announced the initiation of explanatory proceedings.
Babiarz himself has remained silent so far, as Kwiatkowski mentioned in his latest post. He only provided a very brief commentary on the situation on the Plejada website. “I can’t, I’m sorry,” the journalist said.. However, there is no indication that the scandal could die down. In the coming days, there will probably still be a lot going on around the suspended commentator.
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Source: Onet Sports Review
Date created: Jul 30, 2024 11:05 AM
Journalist of the Onet Sports Review
