New York City, New York — Just when you think you’ve heard it all . . .
last week we told you about the man in Pennsylvania who was found guilty of a crime for pointing firing a “finger gun” at his neighbor.
This week, an American tennis player was fined $10,000 for pointing his tennis racket and pretending to shoot it like a gun.
Mike Bryan was playing doubles with his brother, Bob Bryan, at the U.S. Open on Sunday.
Bryan thought that a line judge made a bad call on a play, costing him and his brother a point against the Spanish team they were competing against.
Mike Bryan (🎥@Eurosport_RU ) pic.twitter.com/vPwOiZfVqf
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 1, 2019
Jokingly, he turned his racket around, and pretended to shoot it like a gun at the judge.
Replays later showed the judge’s call was a bad one.
The fake racket gun was caught on camera, and an umpire decided that this was unsportsmanlike conduct.
The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) upheld the umpire’s $10,000 fine.
That’s the highest fine given to any male at the U.S. Open this year.
Due to the pressure from sponsors and the USTA Bryan apologized.
He later said, “We won the point and the gesture was meant to be playful. But given the recent news and political climate I understand how my gesture could be viewed as insensitive. I promise that I will never do anything like this again.”
For corrections, news tips, or inquiries, please email us at [email protected]