John McEnroe Says Serena Williams Would Be "#700 In The World On The Men's Circuit" And People Are Mad Online.
Credit: Leo Mason/Popperfoto / Contributor, Credit: Bradley Kanaris / Stringer
THE GUARDIAN – Serena Williams has told John McEnroe to “keep me out of your statements that are not factually based” after he reopened a timeworn debate by saying she would “be like 700 in the world” if she played on the men’s tour. That would put Williams (career earnings: $84.4m) just behind Brazil’s Wilson Leite (career earnings: $74,000) in the men’s world rankings.
Williams, who is set to be out of action until next year after announcing in April she is expecting her first child, said on Twitter: “Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based. I’ve never played anyone ranked ‘there’ nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I’m trying to have a baby. Good day sir”.
McEnroe’s comments came during an NPR interview on Sunday to promote his memoir, But Seriously.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the internet outrage machine work harder than this John McEnroe and Serena Williams thing. The literal definition of cherry picking quotes out of full length interviews to try and take the most extreme stance possible. Just check the Twitter Moment for it – it’s full of people who are so MAD ONLINE you can see the steam coming out of their ears through the computer. Going so far as to call it “mayonnaise misogyny”:
This is the entire McEnroe conversation:
Prompting this response from Serena which subsequently got every YASS KWEEN SLAY meme attached to it –
Here’s where McEnroe fucked up: the number 700. Serena would not be the #700 player in the world on the men’s side. She is way, way better than that. Such a large number comes off as disparaging. But as an all-time tennis great who knows the game better than most people on the planet he was asked his opinion and gave his answer, while being as complimentary as possible while doing it. Is he a misogynistic piece of shit for feeling that way? I seriously doubt that. The idea that the men’s and women’s tennis games are a lot different isn’t a unique one and isn’t a sexist one –
Here’s Serena herself giving her opinion on the topic in a Letterman interview:
Serena: “Actually it’s funny, because Andy Murray, he’s been joking about myself and him playing a match. I’m like, ‘Andy, seriously, are you kidding me?’ For me, mens’ tennis and womens’ tennis are completely, almost, two separate sports. If I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0, 6-0 in five to six minutes, maybe 10 minutes. No, it’s true. It’s a completely different sport. The men are a lot faster and they serve harder, they hit harder, it’s just a different game. I love to play women’s tennis. I only want to play girls, because i don’t want to be embarrassed. I would not do the tour, I would not do Billie Jean [King] any disservice. So Andy, stop it. I’m not going to let you kill me.
Andy Murray is obviously way, way better than #699 in the world but the point remains that Serena thinks the disparity is so great that “it’s a completely different sport.” Maybe her opinions have changed since that interview but I trust her and McEnroe’s views on the subject more than randoms in the Twitter mob.
Serena is one of the best athletes in the world – I wrote how her winning the Australian Open without dropping a set while over 2 months pregnant was one of the most impressive feats in sports ever. Male or female. There’s no need to compare the two either, but when this NPR asshole pushed for it clearly trying to get something quotable, McEnroe answered – wrong, maybe, but definitely not in a mean spirited sexist way that warranted EVISCERATION AND DESTRUCTION on social media IMO.
By the way, McEnroe, being McEnroe, refuses to apologize: