The worlds ranked No.1 tennis player, Novak Djokovic, has decided to insert himself into the controversy about Raymond Moore's comments on the WTA, even though he really, really shouldn't have.
It all started with Raymond Moore, the CEO of Indian Wells Tennis Garden, who is currently hosting the BNP Parabis Open. Moore had stated a bevy of bizarre things about women tennis players that ranged from confusing to downright sexist:
No, I think the WTA -- you know, in my next life when I come back I want to be someone in the WTA, (laughter) because they ride on the coattails of the men. They don't make any decisions and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky.
If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport. They really have.
Yikes. Raymond, you will be lucky to come back as a rodent or a bug in your next life, the way you're talking about female athletes. Somehow, this conversation managed to spiral into an even weirder and more misogynistic whirlpool of bullshit when Moore tried to be more complimentary:
But you know what? I think the WTA have a handful - not just one or two - but they have a handful of very attractive prospects that can assume the mantle. You know, Muguruza, Genie Bouchard. They have a lot of very attractive players. And the standard in ladies tennis has improved unbelievably.
Okay, strangely worded, but not terrible, right? Then, the reporter asked if he used the word attractive to mean physically or competitively attractive. You could almost guess what happens next.
No, no, no I don't -- I mean both. They are physically attractive and competitively attractive. They can assume the mantle of leadership once Serena decides to stop. I think they've got -- they really have quite a few very, very attractive players.
Noooo! That was so close to not being offensive and then you had to go and ruin it by talking about how physically attractive the women athletes are.
In the wake of this needless crusade to devalue strong, successful women athletes, Novak Djokovic came forward with his own confusing comments on the controversy. Djokovic is the No.1 ranked tennis player in the world, and it is very likely his attractiveness was never discussed by a CEO in an interview about his sport. Be warned, although he starts his comment with "I don't know what to say", he sure says a whole lot.
I applaud them for that. I honestly do. They fought for what they deserve, and they got it. On the other hand, I think that our men's tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more, because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men's tennis matches.
I think that's one of the you know, reasons why maybe we should get awarded more. But, again, you know, we can't complain because we also have great prize money in men's tennis is at the right moment in the right time.
Although those statements are not necessarily true, they just toed the line of being ill-informed instead of completely offensive. Then, things got weirder.
It's knowing what they have to go through with their bodies, and their bodies are much more different than men's bodies. They have to go through a lot of different things that we don't go through. You know, the hormones and different stuff, we don't need to go into details. Ladies know what I'm talking about.
He capped off the conversation with
I'm completely for women power.
Wait...what just happened? It's nice (but unlikely) that you can understand the turmoil of having a lady body (ladies know what he's talking about), but stating that men should be awarded more prize money than women by suggesting that men's tennis is more popular doesn't exactly seem like something someone who is "completely for women power" would say.
Despite having a woman's body, Serena Williams was somehow able to make her return to the tournament for the first time in fifteen years. Although her return seemed to be overshadowed by two dudes talking about how women athletes are less valuable than men athletes, she still shared her thoughts with the New York Times:
There’s only one way to interpret that. ‘Get on your knees,’ which is offensive enough, and ‘thank a man’? We, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn’t have to drop to our knees at any point. I don’t think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that. I think Venus, myself, a number of players — if I could tell you every day how many people say they don’t watch tennis unless they’re watching myself or my sister — I couldn’t even bring up that number. So I don’t think that is a very accurate statement.
Sounds like Serena wants hit more than just tennis balls. Moore later issued an apology to the WTA.