The Project host Lisa Wilkinson has hit back at claims made by Gina Rinehart that politics and sport can be separated as the sponsor crisis of the Australian women’s basketball team continues.
On Sunday night, she revealed that the mining magnate and her company Hancock Prospecting had suddenly withdrawn their $15 million deal with the national team.
Lisa Wilkinson, who is a regular on The Project, said that the claims made by Rinehart were not only inaccurate, but also lacked context.
On Sunday night, it was revealed that Indigenous athlete Donnell Wallam was left devastated and distressed after learning that Hancock Prospecting had withdrawn its sponsorship deal with the Australian women’s basketball team.
Wallam reportedly refused to wear the company’s logo on her jersey during her debut against England.
The athlete’s concerns were reportedly triggered by comments made by Rinehart’s father, Lang Hancock, in the 1980s, who suggested that sterilization could be used to solve the Aboriginal problem.
Despite the pressure she was under, Wallam decided to wear the company’s logo on her jersey during her international debut.
The statement released by Rinehart’s company on Sunday night was also taken aim at.
According to Wilkinson, the idea that politics and sport can be separated is not only naive, but also absurd.
For instance, the Australian teams refused to tour South Africa during the apartheid era.