More than two months after Neil Harman, the long standing Tennis Correspondent of The Times of London was suspended on charges of plagiarism, Daily Tennis News understands his employment with the newspaper has been formally terminated.
Harman is believed to have been informed of the decision but has been advised by his legal representatives to make no comment on the outcome of the protracted internal investigation into his work.
According to sources within News UK, owners of The Times, there is no evidence of Harman ever committing plagiarism in his work for the newspaper. However the 57 year-old has admitted guilt to using the work of other writers and then failing to attribute in several editions of the Official Wimbledon Annual, which he wrote from 2004 until last year.
The plagiarism first came to light in April when Harman, a former president of the International Tennis Writers (ITWA), chairman of Britain’s Lawn Tennis Writers and winner of the ATP World Tour’s Ron Bookman Award for Media Excellence, was relieved of his duties by the All England Club and replaced by the Independent’s Paul Newman. However the situation was kept under wraps until first Private Eye magazine and then the Slate website wrote accusing pieces just after this summer’s Wimbledon Championships.
Amongst the publications plagiarized were The New York Times and Sports Illustrated along with the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph from the United Kingdom.
Harman was suspended from duty by The Times on July 25 and preferred to use a New York based freelance for coverage of the recent US Open. He subsequently resigned from ITWA and withdrew his Twitter account that was one of the most prolific of any working journalist.
In his resignation letter to ITWA, Harman wrote: “I have decided to resign from ITWA and do so with a heavy heart but it is clear that I have no alternative.
“It has been brought to my attention that I have severely compromised my position as a member, having used unattributed material to form part of my writing of the Wimbledon Yearbook. There can be no excuse for such shoddy work, which I deeply regret. I did it without malice aforethought, but that I did it at all is simply inexcusable.
“I sincerely had no idea the extent to which I had let the Club, myself and my colleagues down and feel it is only right that I relinquish my membership. This is a marked stain on my reputation and (I hope) good name. I have allowed my standards to slide, more than is acceptable.”
He had been Tennis Correspondent of The Times since 2002 and previously filled the same role with the Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail and the now defunct Today newspaper. He is also a former Football Correspondent of the Daily Mail.
Professionally he was a close confidante of both world no.1 Rafael Nadal and no.2 Novak Djokovic and was commissioned to ghost write 77, Andy Murray’s own account of becoming the first British player in as many years to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title since Fred Perry was triumphant in 1936. He also wrote two other tennis books: Dual For The Crown in 1999 which investigated the rivalry between Britain’s Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski; then last year Harman’s own memoirs of a tennis year were published in Court Confidential.
It is understood that All England Club, angered that their brand had been tainted by numerous instances of plagiarism, had made it clear that Harman would be denied media accreditation to cover the Championships in future years.
For the last 25 years Harman has been married to Maureen Hanlon, a former WTA Communications Coordinator.
Editors note. : it’s sad. But sadder that Neil was so arrogant in his “”Serial Plagiarism ” . The man that had the position to put out the Wimbledon annual prior to his death was British tennis journalist JOHN PARSONS , John was a man of integrity. Personally since John died @ Miami tourney in 2004. I only looked at the photos in the annual. If Neil was too busy. He could have been the editor and let a dozen great tennis writers contribute. He preferred to “borrow ” their work. We applaud the young American tennis writer BEN ROTHENBERG for the courage to uncover this terrible ten year cover up. (LJ)
Editors note : it’s not easy squeezing out words. It’s not easy staring at your blank paper , your typewriter , your keyboard. Some days the words and thoughts flow. And other times we suffer writers block. Taking other peoples words as your own is pitiful. I’d prefer to not write and post pictures (LF)
Topics: British journalist, Daily tennis news, London, Neil Harman, Tennis News, The Times
NEIL #HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY , SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCbbK2Q #tennis
RT @10sBalls_com: NEIL #HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY , SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCb…
RT @10sBalls_com: NEIL #HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY , SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCb…
@JanDeBakker Here – I got a preview before it went online. http://t.co/sfZihpR22V
@rayegan74 One of the editors here http://t.co/sfZihpR22V
Daily Tennis News understands Neil Harman’s employment with the(Times) has been formally terminated. http://t.co/sfZihpR22V
RT @markalannixon: Daily Tennis News understands Neil Harman’s employment with the(Times) has been formally terminated. http://t.co/sfZihpR…
RT @markalannixon: Daily Tennis News understands Neil Harman’s employment with the(Times) has been formally terminated. http://t.co/sfZihpR…
RT @markalannixon: Daily Tennis News understands Neil Harman’s employment with the(Times) has been formally terminated. http://t.co/sfZihpR…
RT @markalannixon: Daily Tennis News understands Neil Harman’s employment with the(Times) has been formally terminated. http://t.co/sfZihpR…
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY, SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/M4MmWaIjFY #tennis
http://t.co/AYC2dNRj5x
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY, SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCc2xr2 #tennis
@CrackedGem It was added yesterday evening under the picture of Harman here http://t.co/iAK52ak24Z
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY, SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCc2xr2 #tennis
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY, SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCc2xr2
#NeilHarman BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY, SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCc2xr2 #tennis
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY, SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/jo8Rtk2U27 #tennis
#NeilHarman BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY , SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCc2xr2 #tennisnews
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY , SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/jo8Rtk2U27 #tennis
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY , SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCbtlrq
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH #JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY , SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCbbK2Q #tennis #Harman
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY , SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCbbK2Q
NEIL HARMAN BRITISH JOURNALIST SEEMED TO SWIPE WHOLE PASSAGES FREQUENTLY, SAD CAUSE HE COULD WRITE- http://t.co/fM0CCbbK2Q #tennis