In defence of Bernard Tomic

HAVE you ever disappointed yourself? Said something you shouldn’t have? Made a bad decision? Unless the answer is no, you should lay off Bernard Tomic, writes Colin Vickery.

GIVE Bernard Tomic a break.

I never thought I’d say those words but that is my overwhelming response to the Aussie tennis star leaving I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

Tomic — at the mere age of 25 — decided that he had endured enough even though he had only spent around three days on the Channel 10 reality show.

It didn’t take long for the media and viewers to bang on about the exit being another example of Tomic being a “quitter”.

You’d think the guy was a serial killer given some of the venom but no, just a young guy who decided he didn’t want to be on a TV show with a bunch of b-grade has-beens any more.

I’d label that good taste.

A couple of months ago, when rumours circulated of Tomic’s involvement, I was critical. I thought he would sit in the corner and sulk.

But Tomic was very different to last year’s dud, Tom Arnold. He took parachuting out of an aeroplane to reach the jungle with good grace. He very willingly took part in the challenge which saw him get repeatedly bitten by a snake.

Bernard Tomic quits like Roger Federer wins grand slams.

— Titus O'Reily (@TitusOReily) January 30, 2018

He wasn’t rude to anyone. He treated his fellow celebrities with respect, which is more than can be said for Anthony Mundine.

I think things turned sour for Tomic when he was forced to do Monday night’s ridiculously hard stomach-churning “Bridge Too Far” challenge.

Last year, the challenge took place later in the season and the celebrity was blindfolded. This year it was early and Tomic was forced to wear glasses that showed a mirror image of what lay in front of him.

It didn’t take long for Tomic to be physically ill. I defy anyone not to have the same reaction to a world that is swirling out of control in front of your eyes. It is like living in your own version of Inception.

The show’s executive producer, Alex Mavroidakis, has admitted that it was after that highwire challenge that Tomic first asked to leave.

It took some severe arm twisting from Mavroidakis as well as a chat with a psychologist to get him to stay for at least one more night.

Bernard Tomic opens up to Jackie Gillies on I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! (Pic: Network Ten)

“Half of me is angry with him because (by leaving) he’s messed up a whole lot of plans that we had in place,” Mavroidakis has said on radio.

Diddums Alex. There is more than your inconvenience at stake — and you have to take some responsibility for Tomic confronting the “Bridge Too Far” challenge so soon into the show’s run.

Too much think time also seemed to get the better of Tomic. I think he had hoped that being locked in the jungle would clear his head. Instead it just gave more time for his inner demons to play havoc on his self-esteem.

I felt sorry for the guy. He is young. He is confused. And on the show last night he said he might even be depressed.

That makes it all the more disappointing that Lleyton Hewitt felt he had to criticise Tomic for being on the show.

I would have thought that the Aussie player renowned for his atrocious on-court antics earlier in his career would be the last person lecturing Tomic about his attitude.

But everyday Aussies need to hold off too. Tomic’s worst crime seems to be that he hasn’t lived up to his potential.

Surely that’s not a hanging offence. It pales into insignificance compared to the myriad sports stars stung for taking performance enhancing drugs, abuse of recreational drugs, drunken behaviour, or sexual and physical abuse.

Instead of getting upset at Tomic, maybe people should take a good hard look in the mirror. Have they done things they’re not proud of? Have they said things they wish they could take back? Have they not fully lived up to their potential?

I bet the answers to those are yes, yes and yes. People should fix themselves up before judging others.

Colin Vickery is a News Corp TV writer.

@Colvick