After a stretch of public tranquility, Serena Williams has found controversy once again.
The American tennis star makes explosive comments about the Steubenville rape case in an upcoming issue of Rolling Stone. In the piece, first excerpted by Deadspin, Stephen Rodrick describes how he was watching television with Williams when news of the infamous Ohio rape trial came on the screen.
Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I dont know. Im not blaming the girl, but if youre a 16-year-old and youre drunk like that, your parents should teach youdont take drinks from other people. Shes 16, why was she that drunk where she doesnt remember? It could have been much worse. Shes lucky. Obviously I dont know, maybe she wasnt a virgin, but she shouldnt have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then thats different.
Williams also takes a veiled shot at Maria Sharapova in the piece give it a rest and dismisses any notion that she had a mentoring role with Sloane Stephens, who defeated Williams in the quarterfinals in the Australian Open this year.
The comments about the rape case will draw the most scrutiny. Social media sites like Twitter were abuzz with criticism after the comments were made public, and the outrage is sure to grow once the story goes mainstream.
Williams and her agent, who are in London for Wimbledon, which starts Monday, did not immediately respond to messages left by USA TODAY Sports.
After other controversies, like her U.S. Open outbursts in 2009 and 2011, Williams has proudly refused to offer full apologies. She insists she was provoked by umpires into both tennis tirades and stands on principle in defending herself.
This is a different circumstance. Williams cant hide behind a cheap call or aggressive umpiring. She went too far. If she doesnt know it yet, shell know it soon enough.
