Friday, June 30, 2017
Must not disrespect female sportspeople
John McEnroe's off-court match with Serena Williams continued on Tuesday morning during his appearance on CBS This Morning.
The ball was back in McEnroe's court this time after Williams issued a curt and cutting response to his claim that she would be ranked 700 in the world if she played on the ATP Tour, and the popular commentator managed to blunder his return.
McEnroe was asked if he would like to apologize for his comment, and he said that he did not feel the need to make amends.
'I respect Serena, very much so, okay, and I was simply calling her on an NPR which supposedly you -- you know, this is where you can say it like it is and you're going to get honest feedback,' began McEnroe.
'She's the greatest female player that ever lived, then the lady said to me, I don't remember which one, but she said, "why did you say woman, why don't you just say the greatest, you know, tennis player that ever lived" and so then I felt the need, however unfortunately probably, to defend myself. I don't know, just say what I really felt, which is about what I think she would be.'
McEnroe then said that he wished men and women would just compete together so he would not have to keep answering the question. He then added: 'I didn't know it would create controversy.'
He did later say on the show that he believed Serena was the fifth best tennis player of all time behind Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Rod Laver and Pete Sampras.
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5 comments:
There are so many things odd about this whole thing.
First, McEnroe is right. Serena is dominant on the women's side of the game but on the men's side she would not be nearly as dominant. Who said that? Williams herself in previous interviews.
What has bothered me is the tweets from Williams herself. She said that she was having a baby and wanted to be left alone and to have her privacy respected. I would respect that opinion if not for the fact that she is appearing on the cover of Vanity magazine nude and pregnant. If you want people to respect your privacy, don't step into the spotlight.
What should be rejected and what Serena should be asked is "there are millions of pregnant women who run families and go to work on a daily basis. None of them ask for the special treatment of "leave me alone" while pregnant and in fact, the feminist point of view is that women can do anything - even while pregnant. So why are you, Ms. Williams, saying you want to be treated differently while pregnant? Why are you setting the cause of women's equality back 50 years?"
McEnroe is right on his assessment and Williams showed a bit of hypocrisy. Perhaps she didn't want to be drawn into any controversy, but her statements are very strange.
Sounds like a setup for another Bobby Riggs vs. Billie Jean King scam.
Honestly, who really cares? I couldn't care less about professional sport. Not interested in the slightest. They are overpaid spoilt brats and have always been. If the public ignored them they would disappear. Same applies to media celebrities. Neither group is overly intelligent but get to put up their worthless opinions and manage to influence the morons who worship them.
At the Australian open in 1998, Serena and Venus Williams both boasted they could beat any man ranked 200 or worse. Karsten Brassch, then ranked 203rd, called their bluff, played a set against each of them, and beat Serena 6-1 and Venus 6-2. He didn't even take the match seriously, smoking and drinking beer during the changeovers.
Can anyone remember back the tennis match between Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs?
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