The former tennis bad boy from the 70's and 80's sparked some controversy over the weekend with a comment about Serena Williams. The news team discusses. (3:49) WCCO Mid-Morning - June 27, 2017
Even if you haven’t it’s just common sense, even though I don’t follow boxing if someone say a female champion is the best boxer ever, it literally means she can beat mike Tyson, Ali etc, which is just bizarre.
Yes and people that think his statement was wrong know nothing about tennis. They said why put female in. Because if you don’t your saying she’s the best player ever which is so far from the truth
Yea. She didn't acknowledge his question and just talked over him. She's a bitch who needs to be btchslapped by a real woman who isn't a men-hating feminazi.
which is the exact same argument to use against trans actvists who claim that biological men in women's sport is no big deal because women also vary in terms of talent, height, strength, etc. In that case, why is there a women's category at all? But nobody ever asks the activists that. Too scared, I think.
@@ceylonin7289 Yeah it is. I don't know if you watched all of this. In 2012 the same guy who used the term female didn't do that when he said she is the best athlete in the past 100 years. So that would compare her to men right? All of a sudden because he has to sell a book he has to say female & then give a guess number of 700? Come on man wake up. You think he's saying this because it's an honest opinion? No.
@@tonyp9313it is an honest opinion. Serena and Venus both lost handily to the 203rd best men’s player in the world. It’s not rocket science it’s common sense. Kudos to Johnny Mac for not sugar coating the truth to give insecure people the warm and fuzzies.
In the original interview, McEnroe said 'Serena was the best female tennis player of all time', then he was asked 'why did you say female' then he replied ' cause if your talking about the best tennis player of all time then she would be ranked about 700 !!! In other words, if your comparing men with women then he was just giving an honest answer. It was not being disrespectful to Serena.
The reason you don't say "greatest men's player of all time" is because that would be the greatest player of all time. Usain Bolt is the fastest man alive but also the fastest human alive?
Best for the men. Serena best for females. You shouldn't be comparing Men vs Women. Also in 2012 he said Serena was the best athlete in the past 100 years. So yeah he did it to sell his book. Only reason he mentioned female.
@@camrennik9512 Now you are taking it a bit too far, Division 3 has some good players but not even close to D1. D1 men's tennis is like a triple A in baseball....D3, not so much.
Serena herself said “I Would Lose 6-0, 6-0 in Five Minutes” - Serena Williams on Playing Against Andy Murray Published 04/09/2020, 11:49 AM CDT It's very simple combine men's and woman's tennis and see who is at 600 to 700
I love how he opens by saying there's no way we could answer this question, when there's a clear and easy way to answer this question. You just have to have Serena play a male tennis player rank somewhere 600 to 700. I mean we already know she lost to a number 203 ranked man.
To say that Serena at that time would be ranked 700th on the tour is likely a generous estimation. It's an extremely competitive environment, and the men around 700 in ranking are going to be as physically tough as many of the top 50-100. To say that Serena could compete with them - possibly over 3-4 sets - is a big leap. In Serena's own words: "Men's tennis and women's tennis are two almost completely different sports" Even if Serena can be said to be the greatest female tennis-player ever, if we're going to erase 'female' from that sentence, it automatically calls for comparison between men and women. I say that comparison is just about non- sensical. Apples and oranges
1998: Karsten Braasch vs. the Williams sisters Another event dubbed a "Battle of the Sexes" took place during the 1998 Australian Open[51] between Karsten Braasch and the Williams sisters. Venus and Serena Williams had claimed that they could beat any male player ranked outside the world's top 200, so Braasch, then ranked 203rd, challenged them both. Braasch was described by one journalist as "a man whose training regime centered around a pack of cigarettes and more than a couple bottles of ice cold lager".[52][51] The matches took place on court number 12 in Melbourne Park,[53] after Braasch had finished a round of golf and two beers. He first took on Serena and after leading 5-0, beat her 6-1. Venus then walked on court and again Braasch was victorious, this time winning 6-2.[54] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance". He added that he had played like someone ranked 600th in order to keep the game "fun".[55] Braasch said the big difference was that men can chase down shots much easier, and that men put spin on the ball that the women can't handle. The Williams sisters adjusted their claim to beating men outside the top 350.[51] Wikepedia
So by their own admission they are very far from being the best tennis players in the world. We can split hairs all day long about where they would rank 350th, 500th, 700th or whatever - but the fact is the same, they are not "the best" by any stretch of the imagination - which was the question the interviewer posed to McEnroe. Pick any sports and it's a similar story. The female world record holder for the 100m wouldn't even qualify for the men's olympic final race with her world record time, let alone have any prospect of winning it. Women's national football teams have been repeatedly trounced by male U15 teams.
It's incredible how blinded they are by their offence. It's very straight forward, is Serena Williams world class? Absolutely. Can she beat anyone to ever walk the face of the planet in a game of tennis? No. So she's not the greatest of all time.
Someone explain to that ditzy blonde that the NPR interviewer baited him by referring to Serena as the best ever. McEnroe corrected her by explaining she’s the best female player.
McEnroe was just discussing how women's tennis compared to men. He could similarly have discussed men's tennis in 2010's versus men's tennis in 1960's. So should the 60's men players have felt offended had he commented that the current players were much better? I think his words were taken too personally and sensitively simply because it concerns men versus women..
For the girls in the video...Just a perspective in a different sport: The time of the fastest women in the planet in 100 Mts track (#1) is in mens ranking #6,404 So when you say a man is the best in a sport, he is, including women in the same sport, but the best woman won't be the best in the sport including the best man in the same sport, that's reality. And yes men and women are different and have different strengths in different areas.
"Men's Tennis and Women's Tennis are COMPLETELY different sports..." Spoiler alert: They're not. They are exactly the same except that the men play best of 5 in grand slams 4 times a year. Literally EVERYTHING else is the same. "Why did you find it necessary to qualify that Serena is the best FEMALE tennis player and not just BEST tennis player?" Wait... didn't you just make the same qualification by saying they are two COMPLETELY different sports and that it's unfair to compare the two? The crap?
I know the solution. You shouldn't refer to a certain female player as the "best female player" but instead refer to her as the "best player in the women's circuit." That shouldn't trigger any feminists right?
Good god almighty. He had that answer dragged out him by clever, cunning interviewers. Serena is the greatest female player ever. Is that so bad to say??
If you really insist that whoever dominates their own separate competition the most is the best player, fine. Then the best player in the world without qualifiers would be Esther Vergeer, the wheelchair player who had a winning streak of several hundred! She won every single tournament she entered during that period. Or are you going to call her "the best wheelchair player ever"?
This is ridiculous. In armwrestling, if you call someone the number one armwrestler in the world, even though they've only competed in North America, then people would understandably be bothered. They would have to armwrestle other continents as well in order to be considered the greatest in the world. If a kickboxer or something won in the lightweight division, would it be a problem to say they're the greatest lightweight player ever? Serena Williams has only (for the most part) competed against women, so the qualifier is necessary to state that she's the greatest female tennis player of all time. Why is that a problem?
The reason you say, "The best women's tennis player" when speaking about a woman is because she can ONLY be the best among women. You don't have to say the best men's tennis player because it's a given that if he's the best in the men's division there is no woman that could be him.
He puts in female because it's obvious... The woman said why do we never say "one of the best men's players ever?" That's because it's not necessary, we already know males have better physical traits then females, allowing their best athletes to be far better at their respective sports than the best female player.
Serena is NOT the best tennis player(male/female) ever. They never said that of Steffi Graff when she at the top of pile. They always included the "female" qualifier for her. Why muddle the water for Serena? Could it be someone wants to dilute the "best ever" accolade by bringing in all this unnecessary rancor. Serena is the greatest FEMALE player of all time and it ends there. Anyone who wants anything else is the one trying to diminish Serena's stature.
Go to 3.10... asks her if men and women should play together, knows she it's check mate then waffles about something completely stupid unrelated to the question asked??
um both sisters played a man ranked out of the top 200 and he beat both of them after having beers with ease back in 1992.. serena Williams is definitely the best women's tennis player of all time and you definitely have to put the word woman in there because if she had to play men she would have never achieved anything in tennis... it's just that simple.
Serena and Steffi were the two greatest female tennis players. You can't say Serena was the greatest tennis player because she would get destroyed playing Rafa, Roger, Novak. Serena had so much power for a woman being so muscular but she can't compare to a man with their muscles. John is right she would probably be ranked 700 if women and men played each other. Look where Serena's ranking dropped to in her years post having a baby. She could never make it back to get those final two slams.
This panel don't understand tennis. McEnroe said She was the best female player and that's right, But she would loose to countless D1 men's college players. This is just reality. Women are better at a lot of things than men, but in certain sports that require a certain strength and speed, men are going to play at a different level. It is simple common sense, facts, and reality.
'Why did he have to say she's the best female tennis player' Because if he had said "she is the best tennis player", the statement would have been factually incorrect. You don't have to qualify it when it's a man, because invariably, the best male athlete in any given sport would also be the best overall. Leaving out the "male" qualifier doesn't invalidate the statement, whereas leaving out the "female" qualifier likely would.
I was actually curious how good women tennis players are compared to men, mc'enroe seemed to put it in perspective. 700th in the world in tennis would kill me....so I don't see it as a slam
This fellow is trying to say what he really wants to say, but knows that he has to be very careful otherwise he will be cancelled. But what he is saying is correct, Serena is a great woman tennis player, but when playing against men she is middle of the road. But he can't dare say this.
Who are these fools?!? He said “female” because Serena is “female”, playing in a “female” version of the sport. When did it become bad to call females “female”. And how can anyone argue that Serena would not be anywhere near the “greatest” male players of all time? Serena actually said in an interview that Andy Murray would beat her 6-0, 6-0 if they actually played competitively and Andy as good as he is is no where near the “greatest”. I guess you can no longer just say the “truth” anymore!
God these women on the show. The reason for the qualification is simple. You don’t need to say the greatest male basketball player because it automatically put him at the top. You can’t say that about the greatest female basketball player. Same with tennis.
“It’s almost like he wants to compare her to her male peers” - ummm that wasn’t him, he was forced into correcting his cohost who DID compare her to her male peers by saying he was the greatest tennis player in the world even above all the men.
3:00 The answer is simple: You need to clarify the female gender because otherwise it would be a wrong statement to just saying "She is the best player". Because the best tennis player is a man. Period. (And probably the best 1000 until reaching the level of a female player like Serena)
Saying Serena is the greatest female tennis player of all time is demeaning? 🤔 That's like calling a woman pretty and she gets offended cause you didn't call her drop dead gorgeous 😅😅😅
"Why did he have to say "best female tennis player of all time"? Because if he says "best tennis player of all time" it would be untrue and he would be lying...
The two on the right are so so ready to attack at any angle, in my onion you need the distinction, otherwise you would not have any problem with what McEnroe responded with in the first place
Serena was literally on national TV saying she wouldn't score a point against Any Murray and would lose in 5 minutes. Again, Serena said this. Tf we talkin bout here? 🤦♂️
Sport - any sport - is some kind of discrimination. No short people play basketball. No heavy built people high jump. Conmpetitive sport is always about comparing people on one of many parameters. People who are too poor to buy shoes have stronger feet and often win the marathon. We "qualify" gender and nothing else. But really, comparing two people is deeply absurd. We should grow out of that at age twelve.
Is messi better than the greatest female soccer player? Is there any female basketball player who can beat lebron, jordan, kobe? Lol why is this even a discussion
NPR asked him. He answered a question in an honest way. If he hadn't mentioned the gender he would have simply said "no, Serena isn't the best". And probably the journalist would have asked him why, and then the gender distinction had been an issue again.
The one lady said you would never say that a male tennis player is the best male tennis player with a gender qualifier. Yeah, because by saying they are the best it automatically means better than all female players also. So, likewise you would never say Serena is the best tennis player ever because that would mean better than all male players and that's obviously not true. Yet, she doesn't get that. Ridiculous.
John was being kind. Go look at matches on youtube that the 900th ranked man plays. He would absolutely whip Serena. Serena is the best women’s player is a more than enough statement to make.
Williams John McEnroe said Serena has a way with words, and truth in them wrapped in ambiguity is the style she's chosen to communicate with apparently. She's very likely winking in when she says that, or better be as it is embarrassing if she were serious. She knows better, and to deny it when it can so easily be disproven is silly. In fact we know it has been with her competing as well as her sister against a ranked player who chose to tone down his game in order to make it interesting, and he was above 200th as well as pre exhausted, and inebriated at the time. I kid you not.
John is telling you facts. They asked him a question he answered. I just watched men doing women’s gymnastics and the female Olympian was amazed at the things they were doing that she could never do. Facts over your feelings. Men rule!
We don't have to try predicting her rank, can prime Serena beat prime Federer/Nadal? If no, then discussion over, she's not the best. These panelists are ridiculous, of course we can and should celebrate the achievements of athletes without qualifying gender, we do that for hundreds and thousands of athletes. Serena is one of many incredible, incredible athletes across all sports. However, discussing "the best" is an entirely different conversation, because now you are not merely celebrating an athlete, but actively trying to rank them, in which case, facts are facts. "Oh why can't he just celebrate her without bring up gender"... *The original interviewer didn't just celebrate Serena's achievements, but explicitly tried to rank her as the greatest, and therefore, John disagreed with an explanation.* I can celebrate Serena and Venus as amazing athletes, but if we were talking about ranking them, then its clearly Serena over Venus, 23 grand slams vs 7. John shot himself in the foot when he estimated Serena's rank in the male circuit, given the political sensitivity of the current era for such topics. The prediction wasn't necessary for answering the question, he could have gone "no, I think the best player is XXX" and the question would be answered, discussion would be over. Instead, his opinion on Serena's rank (albeit a measured opinion from a former No.1 pro) dominated despite the context of his words being entirely factual (that men's tennis is a different ballgame compared the women's tennis). That being said, John did nothing wrong.
This panel is ridiculous. Serena and Venus actually played a guy ranked outside the top 200 and were both beaten with ease. Are they seriously this deluded that they think Serena Williams could beat a prime Pete Sampras or Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray. Beggars belief they are questioning what John McEnroe said.
