JUDY Murray has revealed that she was sexually assaulted by a senior education executive at an official dinner.
The tennis coach, and mother of Scottish tennis players Andy and Jamie Murray, revealed that she had been groped at an after-dinner panel around eight years ago.
She said a drunk man, who she described as a “very senior person from that organisation”, put his hands down her trousers.
Murray said there was an “unacceptable level of sexism and misogyny in sport” as she opened up about her own experience.
Writing in The Sunday Post, she said: “He put his hand firstly on my knee. I didn’t know what to do so I removed his hand and leaned forward to pour myself some water and as I did he slipped his hand down the back of my trousers.
“At that point, I got up and went straight to the bathroom. I wanted to throw up. I was totally disgusted and didn’t know what to do."
Murray said she wondered whether to report the issue as she still had to give her speech, adding "I knew it would cause a huge stir".
She continued: “It rocked me so badly. I sat in the loos for ages and decided to do the speech – the show must go on and all that – but I didn’t go back into the room until I knew it was time for me to go on stage.”
Murray said as soon as she finished her speech, she picked her bag up from her seat and left.
She added: “The incident left me feeling sick to my stomach for a long time.
“I have never spoken of this before but maybe I should have. If something like that happened to me now I definitely would. Women have found their voices and are calling out all sorts of sexist behaviour. It has given confidence to others to do the same.”
The 62-year-old said she was “dismayed but not surprised” by the “offensively sexist” jokes made by former lawyer Bill Copeland at last week’s Scottish Football Writers’ Association gala dinner.
She said "every woman in the world" would have experiences of being made to feel unwelcome or uneasy at similar events.
Murray also opened up about attending an award event on behalf of her son Andy, saying the presenter suggested she was not properly dressed for the occasion.
She continued: "Far too often women are made to feel the world of sport is not for us and that our presence is neither welcome nor important.
"If we don’t make a noise nobody hears us. We have to call out injustices and unacceptable behaviour. I understand that now."
