Sharapova fires back at Williams for allegedly dating her tennis coach while he was still married.
- Jun 24, 2013
AceShowbiz - Maria Sharapova has responded to Serena Williams. Sharapova was miffed after Williams was believed to have made an unfavorable comment about the blonde tennis player's relationship with Grigor Dimitrov, Williams' rumored ex, during an interview on Rolling Stone's latest issue.
"There are people who live, breathe and dress tennis. I mean, seriously, give it a rest," Williams said back then in a phone interview with her sister Venus Williams. "She begins every interview with 'I'm so happy. I'm so lucky' - it's so boring. She's still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it."
Sharapova replied in a pre-Wimbledon press conference, "Obviously I have a tremendous amount of respect for Serena and what she's achieved on the court. If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend."
It referred to Williams' alleged relationship with her tennis coach who, Sharapova said, "was married and is getting a divorce and has kids." Sharapova added, "Talk about other things, but not draw attention to other things. She has so much in her life, many positives, and I think that's what it should be about."
The blonde tennis player was also "sad" to hear about her rival's comments about Steubenville rape case.
Serena drew criticisms with her comment about the rape victim, "I'm not blaming the girl, but if you're a 16-year-old and you're drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don't take drinks from other people. She's 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn't remember? It could have been much worse. She's lucky."
She first apologized, "What happened in Steubenville was a real shock for me. I was deeply saddened...I am currently reaching out to the girl's family to let her know that I am deeply sorry for what was written in the Rolling Stone article. What was written - what I supposedly said - is insensitive and hurtful, and I by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame."
As she got mixed reactions for implying that that she was misquoted without really saying it, she issued a new statement that read, "I am deeply sorry for my insensitive and misinformed comments. It was not my intention to cause the victim and her family any additional pain. But I did, and I am sorry. I am grateful to them for the opportunity to personally apologize, and I am humbled by their strength, grace, and forgiveness."
"I also want to extend an apology to the millions of sexual assault victims in America whose pain could have been compounded by my inappropriate remarks. Rape and all forms of sexual assault are completely unacceptable, no matter the circumstances. Sexual assault perpetrated against women and men is never acceptable and never the fault of the victim."
