Justin Gimelstob fired for sexist remarks

A barrage of sexist remarks

What was Justin thinking? I didn't listen to the radio show (an hour long interview on a local Washington, D.C. radio station) where Justin Gimelstob, for tennis touring professional hailing from Livingston, NJ, got slammed for his sexist remarks against female tennis players, but in writing and potentially out of context his words sound pretty bad. In particular focus were his remarks about Anna Kournikova - an immensely talented player, and the one to start the "Russian wave" of tennis (that now has 80% of the top ten women on the WTA tour stemming from the formet Soviet Union). Anna Kournikova is known not only for her tennis game and accolades, but for her marketability as a female athlete. She has reaped more money off the court than on. For this reason she often gets slack for having been sidelined by the glamour that comes with the game (she wouldn't be the first).

Gimelstob lambasts Anna Kournikova

Justin Gimelstob, in his sexist rant against Anna, was said to have called her a "bitch." When asked if he hated her, Justin said "hate is a very strong word — I just despise her to the maximum level just below hate…I’m going to serve it right at the body, about 128 (mph), right into her midriff. If she’s not crying by the time she comes off court then I did not do my job." Whew! We knew Gimel was a goofball, but these are the words of a complete ass job.

And this wasn't just a one liner that everyone caught on to (not that those comments took backstage out of the other interview topics). When asked if he would have an affair with Kournikova (really? what kind of a question is that? Makes you wonder about the people conducting the interview...) he reportedly responded "I have no attraction to her because she's such a douche... I wouldn't mind having my younger brother, who's a kind of a stud, nail her and then reap the benefits."

He goes on to make more sexist remarks about Nicole Vaidisova, Tatiana Golovin, and Alize Cornet, the 17 year old young and upcoming star from France.

Gimelstob gets fired for sexist remarks

It only took one hour for Gimelstob to lose 3 or 4 jobs. His spot on the ATP board? In question. His gig at Sports Illustrated? See ya later. His gig as a commentator on various television networks including ESPN and the Tennis Channel? Not anymore. And a month after he made the comments he was supposed to play Anna Kournikova in a World Team Tennis (WTT) event. Not happening - the WTT organizers banned him from participating in that match.

What did Justin have to say?

So what was Justin's response to all this? For starters, he's donating money to the Women's Sports Foundation. Gimelstob also went on to remark that "There is no excuse, and I am extremely disappointed in myself. I take full responsibility for all the words that came out of my mouth, and, while I can't take any of them back, I hope my heartfelt remorse can begin to heal the wounds felt by many."

The USTA removes Justin from US Open ad spots

The USTA took additional measures and removed him from ad spots in the US Open series promotions over the summer. "Justin Gimelstob's recent comments on a Washington, D.C., radio program were derogatory and demeaning to female tennis players and to women in general. The USTA has long championed integrity, inclusiveness, diversity, and equality, and cannot ignore such harmful remarks. More than any other sport, tennis has benefited from the pioneering role and achievements of so many women." After meeting with Justin, the USTA says that "we anticipate that he will learn from this experience and that he will be able to contribute to the game of tennis in the future." But how far away is the future, if it comes at all?

Where does Gimelstob go from here?

Justin gets a lot of slack. People complain that he does too much showboating, that he doesn't have the accolades or credentials (tennis experience) to back up all his commentating jobs and television facetime. But personally, aside from these sexist remarks, I think he's quite entertaining and doesn't do a bad job of bringing the tennis game down to a level people can understand and relate to. He's funny and times his comments well, without overloading the game with analysis. He's new at commentating, and obviously has some work to do. Hopefully he'll use his "time off" to hone his skills and we'll see him back in the game before too long. Agree? Disagree? Fan of Justin? Never want to see him again? Chime in below with your thoughts!