Journalist apologises for 'sexist' Serena Williams interview

While you need to remind, sexual discrimination appears everywhere - even when it is one of the best athletes in the world, where they are crushed by having to withdraw from competition. This recently happened to Serena Williams, a great tennis player, whose response to the reporter's question about sex presents an incredible amount of grace in a position that was not easy to call.

In-game reporter, Bill Simmons, interviewed Williams after the latter withdrew from the French Open because of a muscle injury, ESPN reported. Simmons asked a question he said was a long time coming:

"I have been waiting about 14 years to ask you this question," Simons said, according to the transcript. "After the 2004 Wimbledon match with Maria [Sharapova], I had the opportunity to interview Donald Trump on his L.A. golf course, and he said that Maria's shoulders were incredibly alluring and then he came up with this incredible analysis: That you were intimidated by her supermodel good looks."

Williams, though, in answering the question, didn't mention Sharapova — or, for that matter, any other athlete. Instead, she simply shut Simons down. She said:

I honestly don’t have any thoughts about that. I can’t say I have been intimidated by anyone. That’s all. That’s it.

This sparked numerous responses, most notably from Simons and from Williams' husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Simons apologized for his "awkward ques" and had how it seemed to "attack Serena" in a tweet, which also defended his feminist credentials. "I'm so sorry," he added at the end. For what it's worth, Simons' Twitter avatar is a picture of himself with Serena herself.

I apologize if my awkward ques seemed 2 empower Trump or attack Serena/I SO admire her/I've spent lifetime fighting racism/sexism/homophobia.Started campaign 2 name US Open Stad 4 Ashe/Lobbied long 2 get Serena 2 return to I. Wells/Called out police violence vs Blake/I'm so sorry

— INSIDE TENNIS (@BillSimons1) June 4, 2018

Ohanian's response, on the other hand, was direct and to the point. "Waited 14 years... for this? Pro-top [sic]: wait at least another 14 more years before asking another question," he wrote, along with a retweet of part of the interview transcript.

Waited 14 years... for this?

Pro-top: wait at least another 14 more years before asking another question. https://t.co/2krgZPfXQy

— Alexis Ohanian Sr. 🚀 (@alexisohanian) June 3, 2018

Besides the sexist element of the question — insinuating that another player's looks might be intimidating to a professional athlete at the top of her game — it's odd that a reporter would be asking Serena Williams if she's been ever been intimidated at all. After all, the recent questions surrounding Williams in the media haven't just been whether she's the greatest female athlete of all time, as ESPN put up for debate. Going beyond that, numerous outlets have laid out their case for Serena Williams as the greatest athlete of all time, male or female.