As Serena Williams made her highly anticipated return to professional tennis at the Queen’s Club Championships, she had the support of her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and their two daughters, who watched from the stands during her doubles clash at the WTA 500 event in London.
However, Ohanian returned to the United States after Williams and her partner, Victoria Mboko, were forced to withdraw from the tournament. He has since landed in controversy over his appearance at the White House during the UFC Freedom 250 event held on Sunday, June 14.
Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian Explains Why He Attended the UFC Freedom 250 Event
As the UFC action took over the South Lawn of the White House on President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, there were over 4,000 attendees present at the invitation-only event. While the evening featured seven fights, it was one particular moment after the fourth bout that drew the most attention.
After heavyweight Josh Hokit knocked out Derrick Lewis in the second round, he stirred controversy during his post-fight interview when he mocked former first lady Michelle Obama.
“Lastly, Michele Obama is a man. Am I right, America?” Hokit said.
Given the offensive nature of the remark and Serena Williams’ history of speaking out about facing similar comments during her career, her husband, Alexis Ohanian, faced backlash online for attending the event.
In response, Ohanian issued a clarification on X, denouncing Hokit’s comment as “vile.” He explained that he attended the event in his capacity as a sports owner, noting his involvement with Angel City FC, Los Angeles Golf Club, Chelsea Women FC, and the Athlos League, among others.
Ohanian also revealed that he had already left the venue by the time the comment was made and praised UFC CEO Dana White for publicly condemning the remark.
“Lot of people asking me to comment: Yes, that fighter’s slur about former First Lady Michelle Obama was vile and inappropriate. I attended the UFC event via invitation from TKO/IMG leadership (I own 5 pro sports teams + a league). I was already on my way home when those comments were made and was glad to see Dana condemn them,” Ohanian posted on X.
The 43-year-old further emphasized his opposition to hate speech, highlighting his resignation from Reddit in 2020.
“For context: I resigned in protest from Reddit (the company I co-founded and built for over a decade) specifically to push it to curb communities for hate and violence on the site.”
Additionally, Ohanian explained that his early departure from the event was prompted by his lingering jet lag.
“I was walking out because it was like 11:00p and I was on Europe time,” he commented.
MORE: ‘THIS IS CRAZY’ – Tennis World Goes Wild as Venus and Serena Williams Bag Wimbledon Wildcard
While Alexis Ohanian traveled back to the United States, Serena Williams headed to Germany for the Berlin Tennis Open. She struck up an exciting doubles partnership with Karolina Muchova, but their campaign was very brief as Erin Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos triumphed 6-4, 6-4 in their first-round clash.
O que achou dessa notícia? Deixe um comentário abaixo e/ou compartilhe em suas redes sociais. Assim conseguiremos informar mais pessoas sobre o que acontece no mundo do tênis!
Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em:
Fonte original