R-E-S-P-E-C-T Reloaded

Am I being too hypersensitive here? Just in the last week, I feel like I’ve posted a lot about sexism in tennis and in sport in general. I know it has always existed, but it just seems to be getting out of hand lately with Michael Stich’s comments, some of the stuff written in British tabloids, and the Wimbledon scheduling itself. 

 

And then, I heard this (audio). It was an interview conducted by WFAN with Jennifer Capriati. Capriati apparently thought she was on air to promote the Wimbledon event in Rockefeller Centre, but Craig Carton had other ideas, calling Jim Courier “half a woman”, questioning Capriati about her sexusality and asking her outright whether she would have a threesome with him and another woman.

 

Thanks to the Sporting Blog for providing a snippet of the interview, for those who don’t want to listen to Carton’s sleazy voice. 

 

Carton: ”Not that you’re not hot, but you’re no Joanna Krupa. How hot was she?” 
Capriati: [Uncomfortable laugh] Uhhh, you know, not bad, not bad. 
Carton: Would you ever get it on with a gal like that, or no? 
Capriati: [Uncomfortable laugh] What kind of questions are these, man? 
Carton: I only ask because she’s a beautiful woman. 
Capriati: [Uncomfortable laugh] 
Carton: And I don’t know about your sexuality, it’s irrelevant to me, whether you like women or men or both … 
Boomer: Now come on … 
Carton: But as a single woman, you appreciate that Joanna Krupa’s gorgeous, right? 
Capriati: I appreciate beauty. Yes. Her personality was great too. 
Carton: Great, so I don’t know if you drink beer or if you’re totally on the wagon with everything, but is there any moment where you could see you and Joanna maybe getting it on, or no way? 
Capriati: No, no way. 
Carton: You like men, yes? 
Capriati: Yes. 
Carton: Dammit. 
Capriati: These are, yeah, these are … 

 

And thanks to Carton’s cohost, Esiason Boomer for doing absofuckinglutely nothing while his colleague went on a misogynist frolic with a three-time grand slam champion. 

 

Equally outrageous was the initial match report of Sharapova v Dulko written up on the official Wimbledon website by a female writer. 

 

“As Sharapova and Dulko ran and stretched and lunged, most of the male spectators could not have cared less about their topspin forehands and would no more have recognised a western grip from a western movie — this match was about hormones, pure and simple.”

 

According to Greg Couch, the article was taken down hours later and replaced with a different match report. This kind of stuff got on the official tournament website? By a female writer? Are you serious?

Sex sells, but women’s tennis isn’t just there to sell sex.

Sharapova and Dulko both looked stunning, but they weren’t just there for hormones. They were there for tennis. 

You can read more on the shenanigans here. 

 

This is just too much. Urgh.