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Jones: Serena Williams, and all women, deserved better from John McEnroe

 
Serena Williams makes a backhand return to her sister Venus during the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in January in  Melbourne, Australia. [AP photo]
Serena Williams makes a backhand return to her sister Venus during the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in January in Melbourne, Australia. [AP photo]
Published June 28, 2017

John McEnroe might be the best sports analyst in broadcasting.

What makes the former tennis great so good is that his analysis is based on brutal honesty. His loyalty is to the viewer, not the players he covers. That's how it should be.

But sometimes, it's just better to be nice than honest, especially when that candor needlessly tramples on the legacy of someone who has done nothing to deserve that kind of disrespect.

In case you missed what happened, here's a quick catchup.

McEnroe was on NPR over the weekend to talk about his new book, But Seriously. During the interview, NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro asked McEnroe why he would qualify his statement that Serena Williams was the best "female" tennis player in the world. McEnroe said that if Williams played on the men's circuit, "she'd be like 700 in the world."

McEnroe went on to say, "That doesn't mean I don't think Serena is an incredible player" and other kind things. In fact, he has always lavished praise on Williams.

But the part that everyone is jumping on — and the part that drew a swift Twitter response from Williams — is that Williams couldn't hang with even bottom-of-the-barrel professional men's players. McEnroe appeared on CBS This Morning on Tuesday and said "no" when asked if he wanted to apologize.

So, is McEnroe right?

That's not the point.

There is no way to answer whether or not McEnroe is right. It literally is like comparing apples to oranges. It is a question that cannot possibly produce a legitimate answer because Williams will never compete on the men's tour.

What does matter is how McEnroe's answer pointlessly insults Williams and waters down women's sports.

Part of me feels bad for McEnroe because I do believe he respects Williams and women's tennis and never intended for this to turn into a controversy.

Garcia-Navarro's gotcha-type question put him in a tough spot. He could either dance around the topic, which typically isn't his style, or he could give his honest assessment, which was going to put him in hot water.

He should've danced. Appreciating Williams, especially in that context and setting, was far more important than giving an opinion that cannot be proven about the battle of the sexes.

The part where McEnroe loses sympathy is that he is smart enough to know better. He should have known that saying Williams would be ranked 700th on the men's tour would cause a stir. Few were going to view this as McEnroe simply believing women don't have the physical strength to compete with men. He should have known it would be seen as a slam against Williams and a dismissal of what she has accomplished in her remarkable career.

So what should McEnroe have said when he was asked why qualify his statement by saying Williams was the best "female'' tennis player ever?

How about this:

"Good point. I think you can put her career, all her accomplishments, all her titles, all she has done and make the claim that she has had a career that rivals anyone — male or female — who has ever played the game.''

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That's it. End of story.

And it would be honest.

There's no question that Williams has had a more celebrated career than the 700th greatest male player of all time, whoever that is. It's just like saying baseball's Babe Ruth or track's Jesse Owens or basketball's Bill Russell are among the greatest athletes of all time even though many believe they would not be able to compete against today's modern athlete.

Look, you might see this all as silly, a non-story, a dumb argument and the PC police run amok.

But McEnroe's answer, whether you believe he is right or not, does nothing more than drive a wedge in the effort of women to be viewed with the same respect that men get. It's just another example of a woman accomplishing incredible things in her life and then being told by a man that if she was a man, she never would have done all those things.

It was just so unnecessary.

McEnroe should have known better.

And Williams and all women deserve better.