The ongoing feud between Serena Williams’ family and player-turned-billionaire Ion Tiriac has taken another twist with the latter’s son delivering a ridiculous sledge.
Tiriac, 82, was blasted last month over comments the former world No. 8 made about Williams’ weight and his unsolicited advice for her to retire.
“At this age and the weight she is now, she does not move as easily as she did 15 years ago,” Tiriac said on Romanian TV.
“Serena was a sensational player. If she had a little decency, she would retire.”
That baffling remark earned Tiriac the wrath of Williams’ husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian who slammed the Madrid Open owner as a racist and sexist.
Williams qualified for her 40th grand slam semi-final on Tuesday night and Ohanian reignited the feud with a shirt he wore while sitting courtside.
The shirt featured an image of his wife along with the message ‘Greatest Female Athlete’ with the word ‘Female’ crossed out.
After the match, Ohanian took to Twitter and shared news of his wife’s victory over Simona Halep with the caption: “Good thing no one listens to that racist sexist (clown emoji) Ion Tiriac.”
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That triggered Tiriac’s son Alexandru, who penned an open letter to Ohanian featuring some truly nonsensical claims.
“To Mrs. Williams’ husband, I read your tweet with a mix of disbelief and disgust,” the letter began.
“The name Tiriac has a 70-year tradition in the world of sports and the gentleman you are referring to has written a few important chapters that have contributed to the book of tennis along these decades.
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“From the player, to the coach, to the manager, to the tournament promoter, the respected person you are bad wording in these derogatory terms has and still is, at the age of 82, one of the strongest advocates of this sport.
“The respect he has (Ion Tiriac) for Mrs. Williams is tremendous, as it should be.”
The next line in the letter attempted to make a truly outrageous claim.
“She is and will remain in history as one of the best 20-25 players who have highly contributed to this sport,” it read.
“She has a personality that has opened many doors for young generations of athletes, in all fields of sports and in all social walks of life. For that, we are very grateful to her.
“Mr. Williams, the only reason I reply to your unnecessary tweet is that words are misused and misinterpreted in today’s world through the various platforms in existence. “Free speech should not be wrongly replaced with inappropriate slander.
“In my humble opinion, and to use a well-known quote, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
“As Mrs. Williams’ husband, you can no longer only represent your own views when you talk about sports, but also the voice of an icon.
“It would be a real shame to cast an erroneous image on her legacy through emotional baseless tweets. “I hope that through these few sentences I can bring some wisdom toyour future misguided public declarations, and maybe some due respect to a self-made man who is a true lover and lifelong contributor to this sport.
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“Congratulations to Serena, very well deserved, keep going forward and writing history in such a wonderful career. “Alexandru Tiriac.”
The letter was torn to shreds by tennis fans on social media who laughed off the suggestion that Ion Tiriac ‘respected’ Williams, accusing Alexandru of ignoring his father’s body-shaming sledge.
