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| Photo Credit: BPI/Icon Sport |
When Serena Williams and her fiancée, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian announced that they were expecting, most of the world reacted with joy.
But at a time when she should be celebrating one of the happiest moments of her life, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is responding to racist comments.
“Let’s see what colour it has. Chocolate with milk?” 70’s tennis star Ilie Nastase said at a press conference last week.
Nastase, 70, has been provisionally banned from all International Tennis Federation events after being thrown out of a match between Romania and Great Britain for verbal abuse of the female players–a move Williams supports as the ITF investigates his comments about her child’s appearance.
“I humbly thank the ITF for any consideration given to all the facts in this case. They will have my full support,” she said on Instagram. Quoting Maya Angelou, she responded to Nastase.
“It disappoints me to know that we live in a society where people like Ile Nastase can make such racist comments towards myself and unborn child, and sexist comments against my peers,” Williams wrote.
“I am not afraid unlike you. You see, I am no coward. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? You may shoot me with your words…you may try to kill me with hatefulness, but still like air I will rise.”
Williams is due this fall.
