AUDENARDE, Belgium (AFP) - Highly-rated Slovakian cyclist Peter Sagan was accused of sexism and harassment on Sunday after he was pictured pinching the bottom of a podium girl after the Tour of Flanders.

Sagan, 23, smirked towards the camera as he grabbed the bottom of a blonde hostess, one of two girls giving congratulatory kisses to race winner Fabian Cancellara.

His actions caused an out-pouring of anger on Twitter.

"Shame that Peter Sagan has so much class on a bike and so very little off it," wrote British cyclist Michael Hutchinson on Twitter.

Later, he added: "Im a little surprised that probably 50% of the Sagan-ass-grabbing-gate replies I've got have been pro Sagan. (Maybe I shouldn't be.)."

Jane Aubrey, editor of Australian website cyclingnews.com, also condemned Sagan's actions.

"Anyone excusing Sagan's behaviour due to his age, needs to think again. In the workplace, it's called harassment," she tweeted.

Sagan later took to Twitter to apologise for the incident.

"Was not my intention to disrespect women today on the podium. Just a joke, sorry if someone was disturbed about it," he wrote.


http://au.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/16481879/sagan-rapped-for-podium-bottom-pinch/

Over reaction - typical media trolling to get people outraged....

Perfect opportunity for the "lets castrate men" committee to have a hate men session.....

It's an innocent pinch.... I've had a few done to me at times by women... should be I be insulted they objectified my budunkadunk? Pfff.... man up.... or woman up if the case may be....

Mobydisc said...
A woman employed as a podium girl probably should expect that some behaviour like this as it comes with the job. Silly world we live in when people get all upset about this sort of thing. Did anyone ask the woman how she felt about ?

Exactly. Usual crap stirred up by the social engineer loony left type feminists - they could see some publicity in it. Majority of females would agree with you Moby

TheWolf said...
where is the outrage that peter sagan was not asked if he would like a kiss before the girls so inapropriately sexually assulted him!!

Touche.

Buster fin said...
Touche.

^Isnt that what started all this?

i'm just amazed that a professional cyclist deliberately touched a woman's arse

Please Explain ? why is it an "ASS"

I think the right description should be " Arse "[}:)] bit touchy maybe !

"His actions caused an out-pouring of anger on Twitter."

Gee, some people are really lucky that things are so good for them that they have some anger left over to vent at a guy who pinches some tart on the bum.
What do they expect if she's up there kissing strangers?

To all those who bothered to complain,. if you want to make a difference then direct your attention to something of some significance. Any significance. This was not.
(why am I even wasting my time adding to it. )

He does look like a prick doing it though. It's not like he couldn't have had a grab later, he's doing it on stage showing off.

Nothing deeply morally wrong with it, but if you took your cycle-mad daughter to see the cycling in your town and the guy who came second did that, then you'd be kind of disappointed... not outraged, just a bit let down.

It is all capitalism........it is all sales.......sex sells.

Some are offended......some are ok with it. Makes the world go round

Didnt see it, but if the fem was offended, she had the right to biff him good

even in front of the cameras. personaly I am over the kissy, kissy thingo

who would want to have intercourse/action with a smelly bikey.

it was possibly a slip of the hand, on lycra, an illusion

I'm open to be pinched on the behind by any 80 year/old granny's out there,can't see a problem.

Damn I wish I could have written that response^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ikw777 said...
I'd like to live in a world where women aren't cynically used to further the profile of events and/or goods and services by being employed to do dumb stuff like kissing some sportsman at an awards ceremony.

I'd also like to live in a world where men realise that touching an woman in sexually provocative manner outside some sort of understanding between the two of them is, actually, not OK.

I'd love more people to realise that the reason he's touching her like that is due to nothing other than him being encouraged by a lifetime's internalisation of representations of women as male playthings with no agency of their own.

He pinched her because in his mind he's having a naughty bit of fun, like a cheeky schoolkid. The fact that she might not like never occurred to him. Whatever the recipient of the pinch would have wanted or not wanted doesn't matter because he did not care and that's the problem.

That (and dafrog's response) are true.

BUT flip side - women know men are easily amused and like them in different ways to how women like men. They take advantage of it. That is: maybe how the world works is wrong but the grid girls / presentation awards girls / models aren't complaining.

Plenty of women use sexuality and attractiveness to their advantage. If the lady is of average intelligence or better, and thus is capable of making her own decision to dress hot and be a grid girl, knowing that due to her looks a guy will slap her on the bum or chat her up, then who are we to condemn her?

This is not prostitution or hardcore porn videos that she could slide into due to debt or drug use, nor the boiling the frog anology - this is a chick using her attractiveness to make money being photo'd next to the right logo's or something. Same as the cyclist uses his athleticism to make money.

In doing so she accepts that she will be cracked onto and maybe slapped on the bum. Most, I suggest, like the attention as long as it is just a casual flirt or slap on the bum. At worst they dislike the guy and laugh it off and call him a bit creepy ..... yet are bouyed by it somewhat as such activity creates more fame for them and thus more work.

I am not saying it is right - but if they accept it who are we to tell them it is wrong? Typical of the politically correct brigade - the "victim" does not care but the "more enlightened" - usually a lefty with a degree - tells us all how bad it all is.
Nowadays that lefty's criticism is predicted so the "offender" apologises in a speech written for them so they don't lose a billion dollar contract. Next week it happens again. How ridiculous.
Bit like banning Xmas at schools so as to not offend the Muslims - but no Muslims have complained. Madness.

So who are the dumb ones? I say the men who are influenced but the pretty girl..... not the girls for doing it. (I admit I am very dumb lol)
Who are the really truly dumb ones? The ones who complain about it not being right when the "victim" doesn't care. Their high and mighty "i know what is best for you and you should be offended" is almost as distasteful as the use of sex to sell.

ikw777 said...
^^^^^ I am not really concerned about what she chooses to do for a living. I am concerned that there are so many men who believe they can do what they like to women without a single thought about her feelings.

Why is that? What sort of society creates the preconditions for that to happen? What does it sat about power relationships between sexes in our society? Is this the world we want for our sons and daughters? If a girl dresses a certain way and works in certain industry is it allowable to treat her in a disrespectful manner? Is this an adequate excuse for poor behaviour? Really?

Yes I'm a lefty with a degree.

I am also concerned about what u mention in your first para. But what "men do to women" in a more general or 'global' sense is different to this rather narrow example. This example has been happening for a thousand years with consent of both sides. Any increase in sexual assaults or truly unwanted attention of late is a different issue IMHO (and is linked inextricably to other things like domestic violence, king hits at pubs and such)

I did not say societal convention is an excuse for poor behaviour. For example - in football there is no charges of assault, as there is implied consent to hitting one another in certain ways. As soon as you belt a bloke behind the play and break his jaw, well fk you - criminal charges go to jail. Rightly so.
Same here with the grid gals- society's convention is effectively saying that she makes money from being pretty. He makes money from being athletic. (Both equally distasteful IMHO but off track...). The accepted convention is that she parades herself in a manner most ladies would not, she consented to it and will probably be slapped on the bum or chatted up sometimes. She accepts that risk and does not complain. Chances are she loves it and that's why she is doing it.
Same as the tackle on the footy field - implied consent.
Now a grab on the boob or anything more, right up to rape would be criminal and should be condemned.

But seriously, a slap/pinch on the bum?

Pinch grid girl on bum? yes.
Pinch random girl on bum in Woolies? No. Societal convention broken.


I can see the difference....

^^^ Sorry to answer a question with a question - but are there circumstances where, due to societal conventions, there is implied consent to kiss a total stranger..... like she did to him?

'context' is subjective.