Other Sport
Semenya threatens legal action
2009-11-14 21:17
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Johannesburg - The law firm representing world 800 metres champion Caster Semenya said on Saturday she was considering taking legal action against a British newspaper.
An "exclusive interview" published in the Guardian on Friday quoted Semenya saying "people want to stare at me now". She reportedly added that she did not like the attention she had received after it was leaked that gender tests were conducted on her before she won the world title in Berlin in August.
But Semenya's lawyers at Dewey and Leboeuf said in a statement released by the management company representing Semenya that she was considering legal action because an interview had not been granted and the quotes were obtained "under false pretences".
The firm said it had noted the report and "references to an alleged exclusive interview supposedly granted" to a Guardian reporter.
"Our client has instructed us to convey that she continues to refuse to grant interviews to any persons," the law firm stated.
"The reasons for our client's position are obvious. We are instructed by our client that any quotes or information in the article which are alleged to have been obtained from or attributed to our client have been so obtained under false pretences and in a wrongful and unlawful manner. This is regrettable.
"This has been conveyed to the Guardian. Our client is considering the legal options available to her."
The Guardian denied that Semenya had been tricked into an interview and told AP the reporter who wrote the article had been invited to speak to her.