Tennis Tournament Director Steps Down After 'Poor Taste' Comments on Women Players

INDIAN WELLS, CA- Raymond Moore stepped down Monday as BNP Paribas Open tournament director and CEO, one day after saying female tennis players should thank male players for the success of their sport.

"Earlier today I had the opportunity to speak with Raymond Moore," said BNP Paribas Open owner Larry Ellison.

"Ray let me know that he has decided to step down from his roles as CEO and tournament director effective immediately. I fully understand his decision.

"Nearly half a century ago, Billie Jean King began her historic campaign for the equal treatment of women in tennis. What followed is an ongoing, multi-generational, progressive movement to treat women and men in sports equally.

"Thanks to the leadership of Billie Jean, Martina Navratilova, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and so many other great women athletes, an important measure of success has already been achieved.

"I'm proud to say that it is now a decade long tradition at our tournament at Indian Wells, and all the major tennis tournaments, to pay equal prize money to both the women and the men

"I would like to personally thank all the great women athletes who fought so hard for so many years in the pursuit of equal prize money in professional tennis. And I'd like to congratulate them on their success. All of us here at the BNP Paribas Open promise to continue working with everyone to make tennis a better sport for everybody."

Moore told reporters at a media breakfast Sunday, "If I were a lady tennis player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have."

Moore later issued an apology.

"At my morning breakfast with the media, I made comments about the WTA that were in extremely poor taste and erroneous. I am truly sorry for those remarks, and apologize to all the players and WTA as a whole," he said.

"We had a women's final today that reflects the strength of the players, especially Serena and Victoria (Azarenka), and the entire WTA. Again, I am truly sorry for my remarks."

Moore's comments prompted a storm of criticism.

"I don't think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that," Serena Williams said in her post-match news conference Sunday after losing the tournament's final to Azarenka, 6-4, 6-4.

"If I could tell you every day how many people say they don't watch tennis unless they're watching myself or my sister, I couldn't even bring up that number. So I don't think that is a very accurate statement.

"I think there is a lot of women out there who ... are very exciting to watch. I think there are a lot of men out there who are exciting to watch. I think it definitely goes both ways. I think those remarks are very much mistaken and very, very, very inaccurate."

Women's Tennis Association CEO Steve Simon called Moore's comments "extremely disappointing and alarming."

"The WTA stands on its own and was founded on the principals of equality and empowerment," Moore said.

"I am proud of all the strong athletes on the WTA who put in hard work and sacrifice every single day. Tennis as a whole is enriched by the contributions and accomplishments of every player, both female and male."

— By City News Service.