Jermaine Jenas sends message to women he was texting as he explains what happened before BBC sack
Former BBC presenter Jermaine Jenas has sent out a message after being sacked by the broadcaster.
Jenas had been a presenter on The One Show and made appearances on Match of the Day before the BBC announced he was 'no longer part of our presenting line-up'.
He had been live on talkSPORT when news of his sacking was announced, and said that while he wasn't happy about it, there wasn't much he could say without speaking to his lawyers.
He said there were 'two sides to every story', and the former Tottenham Hotspur footballer has since given an interview to The Sun where he's told his part of it.
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In the interview, he said he did 'nothing illegal' and said what had happened was 'inappropriate messages between two consenting adults'.
The claims against Jenas are that he sent 'inappropriate messages' to two female colleagues - and sent a message to the 'women with whom I was messaging'.
"I am ashamed, and I am deeply sorry," he said regarding the circumstances of his sacking.
“I have let myself down, my family, friends and colleagues down, and I owe everyone an apology – especially the women with whom I was messaging. I am so, so sorry.
“I am sorry for what I have put them through. I think it would be fair to say I have a problem.
“I know I self-sabotage and have a self-destructive streak when it comes to my relationship especially, and I know I need help. And I am getting help.
“I have made a lot of mistakes, and I am asking myself a lot of questions at the moment. I know there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and it will be hard.”
Jenas said his actions weren't illegal, but fell below the standard that 'needs to be upheld when you’re a member of the BBC'.
"I’m not proud of what I wrote and what I said. And I do consider it cheating, yes, although nothing physical ever happened," he told The Sun.
“This is all on me and I fully accept there is a level of responsibility that needs to be upheld when you’re a member of the BBC. And I fell below those standards. I must take the responsibility.”
The former footballer and presenter, who has been married to model Ellie Penfold for 13 years, said: "These were two consenting adults I was speaking to. With one she made it clear she was interested.
“I don’t want to start going down the ‘who pursued who’ road, but when people are saying things that are wrong and false information is being spread, I do have to kind of defend my space.
“In that particular instance, there was an adult conversation that took place in a bar in London where that person made it very clear that they had an attraction to me. Yes there was alcohol involved but I take full responsibility.
“I feel people don’t know the truth and are forming opinions about me that aren’t accurate. I wasn’t going through some kind of BBC vault trying to get women’s numbers.
“I’m obviously going to say I’m not a sex pest. These were consenting adults I was texting."
Joe Harker