Source: SportsIllustrated.com
John McEnroe isn’t backing down. The tennis player feels no need to apologize to Serena Williams after he made “controversial remarks” regarding Serena’s gender and how it affects her ability.
To be frank, his comments don’t seem to be overly inflammatory, but the controversy has ensued anyway.
Just so you know the story, the former tennis star previously said he could beat her in a match any day.
When he went on NPR over the weekend, he stuck to that claim, saying that if she competed against men, she wouldn’t be the “best in the world.”
Although, to his credit, he did admit she is the “best female player in the world.”
“If she played the men’s circuit, she’d be like 700th in the world,” the former tennis player proclaimed.
He went on to say, “that doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player. On a given day, Serena could beat some players. I believe because she’s so incredibly strong mentally that she could overcome some situations where players would choke ’cause she’s been in it so many times.”
However, according to McEnroe, she wouldn’t be able to hold the title of the best player in the world if she played the men’s circuit.
After McEnroe had been berated over Twitter for his comments, Williams herself went on social media to address his remarks.
The tennis champion remained classy, saying, “Dear John, I adore and respect you, but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.”
With all that being said, McEnroe continues to stand by his words.
When he joined CBS This Morning with Norah O’Donnell, he was asked if he would apologize.
He replied, “no. It’s not necessary. I didn’t know it would create controversy.”
John went on to say that he respected her very much and that his comments came from the perspective where everyone is always asking him if he could beat her, so he felt it was needed for him to respond.
According to McEnroe, the problem should be solved by making men and women play against each other. Do you think men have a structural advantage over women when it comes to tennis? Let us know in the comment section.
