John McEnroe Thinks Tennis Is Too Tough for the Ladies

John McEnroe is concerned for the ladies of professional tennis. He thinks the Women's Tennis Association should cut back on the number of competitive events each season because female players simply can't handle the physical or mental pressure associated with being a full-time professional athlete. He is, in short, a sexist idiot.

"I think that it's asking too much of the women," McEnroe said Thursday. "They shouldn't be playing as many events as the men." Aww, isn't it sweet how concerned he is for women? Yeah, right. McEnroe is a three-time U.S. Open champion who made the comments in a conference call for CBS Sports, where he works as a TV analyst. Later in the call, he went onto say, "It seems it takes an actual meltdown on the court or women quitting the game altogether before they realize there's a need to change the schedule."

Ah, yes, the emotional meltdown. That's something that only delicate lady athletes are vulnerable to. Well, except wasn't McEnroe himself famous for his temper tantrums, earning himself the nickname Superbrat? Oh, but I'm sure those were terribly manly meltdowns, nothing like what he's afraid the women will experience by playing one too many tennis matches.

McEnroe's entire argument seems to be based on a handful of elite female tennis players who have taken extended breaks due to injury. True, Kim Clijsters, reigning U.S. Open champion, took off a couple of years to heal injuries and have baby. Justine Henin sat out a year and half because of an injury. But, so what? I don't know if McEnroe has noticed, but men have been doing the same thing. U.S. Open men's champion Juan Martin del Potro has sat out most of the season because of a wrist injury. Even Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon in 2009 due to knee problems. "The game is a lot different than when John was playing with wooden rackets 20 years ago," said Michael Joyce, a former men's professional player and coach of Maria Sharapova. "It's not only the women." Did you hear that, John?

In response to McEnroe's claims, WTA Tour commissioner Stacey Allaster told the LA Times, "John is more than entitled to his opinion and he is a well-respected leader in our sport, but I hope when someone makes comments he's also looking at the data." Novel concept. McEnroe's fellow analyst Mary Carillo had this to say, "I hate the idea that we have to judge women on a curve and say, 'It's too much for them.' I've seen too many great women champions for too long."

I can only imagine what tennis legends Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Monica Seles,  and Martina Navratilova would have to say about the sport being to tough for them to handle. McEnroe insulted not only them, but all female athletes, since he claimed that, as rough as it is for tennis players, women "have it better in tennis than in any other sport." I guess all those WNBA players really must be close to a meltdown then, huh? I know CBS pays McEnroe because of his controversial ways, but is someone who doesn't respect female athletes truly the best person to be analyzing them?

Photo credit: Edwin Martinez1