Serena Williams’ husband has her back. On Tuesday, while watching Williams, 39, play in the Australian Open against Simona Halep, Alexis Ohanian wore T-shirt with a very specific message calling out people who think that Williams is at the end of her career.
Cheering from the sidelines, Ohanian was wearing a T-shirt that featured an image of Williams and large writing that read “Greatest Female Athlete”—except that the word “Female” was crossed out.
The shirt appears to be a comment on a statement Ion Tiric, who is the President of the Romanian Tennis Federation, made in January suggesting that Williams should retire because of her “age and weight.”
At the time, Ohanian responded to Tiriac’s statements by calling him a “racist/sexist clown.”
When Williams won against Halep, Ohanian tweeted: “Good thing no one listens to that racist sexist [clown] Ion Țiriac,” in response to a tweet from the WTA congratulating Williams on her win.
Tiriac’s son, Alexandru, had some words for Ohanian about his calling his father a clown. He called Ohanian’s comments “unnecessary,” saying, “free speech should not be wrongly replaced with inappropriate slander.”
He also referred to the famous quote from Spider-Man character Uncle Ben: “In my humble opinion, and to use a well-known quote, ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ As Mrs. William’s husband, you can no longer only represent your own views when you talk about sports, but also the voice of an Icon.”
There have been many debates recently on who is the GOAT in sports, with names such as Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Simone Biles, and Serena Williams among others being tossed around.
Folks praised Ohanian for supporting his wife in such a cool way—and they also wanted to know where they could get the shirt.
Lead image: Twitter