Canadian kayaker and gold medalist Adam Van Koeverden penned a powerful essay on the sexist-tone with which the 2016 Summer Games has been covered.

He was motivated to write the essay in response to comments made by fellow athlete Adam Kreek while on CBC with Ron McClean. Kreek had questioned Eugenie Bouchard’s motivation to win, believing she was more enamoured with selfies, fashion and social media. Van Koeverden says, however, that can’t be further from the truth.

Van Koeverden considers his Kreek to be a friend and as such made a clear statement: “Adam, you were being sexist on television last night.”

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He explained that men who don’t support feminism only contribute to the problem: “Feminism isn’t for females. It’s for everyone. Good men should feel comfortable challenging each other’s prejudices, and accept criticism when those prejudices get the better of us, or when we make a mistake.”

The champion kayaker also praised one particular 16-year-old girl: “Penny Oleksiak has already won four Olympic medals and she isn’t even old enough to drive a car by herself. She’s strong, performs under an immense amount of pressure, she’s an amazing team player and demonstrates the sportsmanship, media savvy and poise of someone twice her age.”

But he was also critical of the way media outlets have covered Oleksiak’s achievements: “Yet sadly, the headline on the cover of the Toronto Sun this week was ‘Pretty Penny’. Perhaps I’m holding the Sun to an unrealistic standard of journalistic integrity, and I get that alliteration sells newspapers but COME ON. She’s the best swimmer of her generation, maybe ever, and the first Olympic Champion ever born in the 2000s and the paper leads with something referencing her appearance? We can do better.”

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Van Koeverden praised women like Marnie McBean, Chandra Crawford and Annamay Pierse for speaking out against sexism, adding that he does not need to defend them because they are more than capable of defending themselves.

And he ended his essay by insisting Kreek apologize for his statements: “I also think that Genie, Marnie, Annamay, Chandra and all female athletes are entitled to an apology from Adam. I don’t think Adam is a sexist man, but I recognize that we all grew up in an inherently sexist world… You apologize when you’ve offended somebody, whether you agree with them or not.”

After all Van Koeverden would know:  “At least that’s what my momma taught me.”