 |
| photo credit: www.cnn.com |
Russian Tennis Federation head Shamil Tarpischev called the
Williams sisters the "Williams brothers" and added "it's scary
when you really look at them"
Tennis star Serena Williams commended the Women’s Tennis
Association for disciplining the head of the Russian Tennis Federation for his “sexist as well as racist” remarks on a Russian
television program.
The WTA suspended Shamil Tarpischev for a year and fined him
$25,000 after he referred to Williams and her sister, fellow tennis champion
Venus Williams, as the “Williams brothers” and said “it’s scary when you really
look at them,” the WashingtonPost reports.
“I think the WTA did a great job of taking initiative and
taking immediate action to his comments,” Williams said in Singapore on Sunday
at the WTA Tour Finals. “I thought they were very insensitive and extremely
sexist as well as racist at the same time. I thought they were in a way
bullying. ”
Tarpischev, who is a member of the International Olympic
Committee, said the comments were a “joke” in a statement.
“I didn’t want to offend any athlete with my words,” he
said. “I regret that this joke has garnered so much attention. I don’t think
this incident deserves so much fuss.”
Source: www.time.com
No comments:
Post a Comment