Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, says he doesn’t want his son Dylan to follow in his footsteps of his half-sisters. “There’s not enough money in the sport,” he says.
Reeves Wiedeman talked to the most famous father in tennis for a Talk of the Town piece in this week’s issue of The New Yorker.
“‘With the things I know now, Venus and Serena wouldn’t have been there,’ [Williams] said. ‘Look at Donald Sterling … What sport do you think he played? Not one! And he makes enough to pay every single player.’ Richard had wanted Serena and Venus to become millionaires; his goal for Dylan has three additional zeroes. ‘He’ll never be a billionaire in tennis,’ he said.
Venus and Serena Williams in 1998
Right on. Why use two of the greatest players in tennis history, who happen to be worth millions and have earned worldwide respect and adoration, as role models when you can use Donald Sterling?
Williams tells Wiedeman that Dylan should avoid the tennis court in favor of learning about commodities such as gold, which isn’t a bad idea, to be honest.
The 79-year-old Williams divorced Venus and Serena’s mother in 2002. However, a pair of strokes have left Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams, so ill he can barely speak, according to a new report.
