On Sunday, Indian Wells Tennis Garden CEO Raymond Moore made a big mistake. Indian Wells hosts the BNP Paribas Open, a tennis tournament. When asked a question about the Women’s Tennis Association, Moore chose to throw out some incredibly sexist remarks instead of praising the accomplishments made by the badass female tennis players in the U.S.
According to CBS Sports, when asked about the WTA, Moore responded by saying “I think the WTA—you know, in my next life when I come back I want to be someone in the WTA, because they ride on the coattails of the men. They don’t make any decisions and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky.” He then goes on to say that “if [he] were a lady player, [he’d] go down every night on [his] knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born, because they have carried this sport.”
I guess the CEO forgot about the fact that Serena Williams, a female tennis player, has won 21 grand slams, while Federer has won only 17 and Nadal only 14.
When approached about the remarks made by Moore, Williams held nothing back. “I think there are a lot of women out there who are more—are very exciting to watch. I think there are a lot of men who are exciting to watch. I think it definitely goes both ways. I think those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate” Williams said, after playing in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open.
She was then asked if she was surprised that sexist comments like these were still being made in 2016, to which she responded perfectly. “Yeah I’m still surprised, especially with me and Venus and all the other women on the tour that’s done well. Last year the women’s final at the U.S. Open sold out well before the men. I’m sorry, did Roger play in that final, or Rafa or any man play in that final that was sold out before the men’s final? I think not.”
William’s response was impeccable, stating the facts to debunk Moore’s unnecessarily sexist comments. Moore later appologized for his “poor taste,” but does that really make up for his heinously sexist comments?
Unfortunately, it didn’t end there. According to BuzzFeed News, Novak Djokovic, a Serbian tennis player, told reporters that “respects female tennis players,” but still believes that male players deserve higher pay because more people watch men’s tennis. But don’t worry, he totally knows how tough it is for women, because of “the hormones, and different stuff” we have to deal with. Are you kidding me? We all need to realize that sexism is never okay, and the only person I’m going down on my knees to thank God for is Serena Williams and her stance against Moore’s sexist comments.