Hewitt is included in the 10 most hated atheletes list by GQ

[RedGinseng]

Actually I used to dislike Hewitt but he grew on me, I wouldn't say I'm a fan of his but I don't blindly root for his opponent anymore. Anyway there is an interesting article on GQ (I'm not familiar with this magazine though) Hewitt is #10 and Barry Bonds,Curt Schilling and Kobe Bryant also made it on the list so check it if you're interested.

http://men.style.com/gq/features/full?id=content_4103

10. Lleyton Hewitt
To our minds, Lleyton Hewitt’s obsession with Rocky is reason enough to put the Aussie tennis star on the list (the dude fires himself up on the court by shouting, “C’mon, Rock!”), but it’s his race-baiting during the 2001 U.S. Open that really seals the deal. Serving in the third set against American James Blake, Hewitt was called for multiple foot faults by a black linesman. Incensed, he approached the chair umpire and, pointing first to the offending linesman and then to Blake, said, “Look at him and you tell me what the similarity is.” “It was a terrible act,” says tennis sage Bud Collins. “Everybody knew what he meant.”

“The thing is, he’s a big foot faulter,” adds former pro and current analyst Mary Carillo. “So the idea that all of a sudden, in the heat of a match, he’s getting called for it out of racial bias was ridiculous.

“He makes guys crazy,” Carillo adds. “They try hard to ignore him, but he’s always barking on the other side of the net.” In his 2005 Australian Open match against Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela, Hewitt so enraged Chela with his frenzied celebration of an unforced error that Chela fired a serve directly at him, then spat at him during a changeover.

“We all know how Lleyton is,” said another Argentine player, Guillermo Coria. “He can be the best player in the world, win every tournament, but I would not want to be like him.” Hewitt, Coria added, is disliked “by every other player on the international circuit.”

Hewitt isn’t even popular in his native Australia. He has been booed in his hometown, and after the incident with Chela, one Australian paper proclaimed, “Many regretted [the spit] did not find its target.”

 

[wildbill88AA]

coria? now theres a guy who lives in a glass house. apparently bec didn't read the article.

 

[West Coast Ace]

I'm not surprised. I still think the Blake incident was blow out of proportion by the Liberal media (Jesse Jackson made a much nastier comment about a certain religious group and after a little scorn was quickly forgiven). It wasn't the brightest thing to say but he shouldn't be getting drilled years later over it. Especially when it's widely reported that he's a very nice guy off court. He got caught up in the heat of competition and made a regrettable comment.

And I have lost more respect for Carillo if she is suggesting the other male pros are thrown by Hewitt's "c'mons!" They never would have made it out of juniors if something that insignificant got to them. I like his emotion - proves he's into the match and trying to win.

 

[yo_3133]

i agree, coria should have also been there

 

[PM_]

They forgot to mention his insensitivity to fashion.

Hewitt: When you develop some real guns, then you'll earn the right to wear a sleeveless at a GS. And it don't mean no 10 inch biceps.

 

[ShooterMcMarco]

didn't realize what FIGJAM meant until i read that article

 

[Alexandros]

Right, which shows less sportsmanship - cheering when your opponent makes an error or trying to hit your opponent with a ball and spitting at them? I find it preposterous how that article puts a spin an makes Hewitt look the the worse guy in that confrontation.

Also, I'd bet that Guillermo Coria has had more confrontations with his fellow tennis players than Hewitt has. I can think of three major incidents I've viewed of his last year, and I make a point of avoiding watching his matches (I think I saw only five of his throughout 2005).

 

[jings]

I don't enjoy Hewitt's on court antics, but I've come to respect his game and competitive streak. Whether he has the weapons to compete out there anymore is another thread. I will however come to his defence on this. He apologised quite profusely to Blake both on tv and in person I understand. He knew he'd said something wrong and was the first to hold his hand up. From memory it also came just after the famous 'collared greens' gem from Fuzzy Zoeller about Tiger Woods, which is up there as one of the most crass things I've ever heard, which also gave it some added spice. As for being the most hated guy on tour, that is not my understanding of him or his reputation.

 

[Alexandros]

On the contrary jings, I don't think Hewitt apologised at all, at least, not immediately after the event in question. His camp tried to claim that when Hewitt said

"Look at him, mate. Look at him. You tell me what the similarity is. … You put
him off the court, get him off the court"

he supposedly wasn't referring to the similarity in colour between Blake and the linesman, but rather that the'similarity' was that the same linesman who had called him out on a foot fault earlier. Kind of a funny way of putting it if you ask me.

Also, when asked about the incident:

"There was nothing said out there racial at all, I didn't say it in that way. I went out there and got two foot-faults on one end. I asked if the guy could be moved. The umpire said 'Yeah, we could move him'. They moved him. You can all think what you want. At the end of the day, I wasn't making a racial comment. It was just between me and the umpire. It's a conversation between two people out there when we're in the heat of a tennis match."


So how could he possibly apologise if he doesn't even admit fault to begin with?

 

[xanctus]

i agree, coria should have also been there

However, Coria; I believe was never implying a comment that could sparks different meaning.
What Hewitt comment on Blake is really put him on the spot.

 

[jings]

Thanks Alexandros, I remembered it differently.

 

[Matthew]

He was also voted one of the most hated athletes by Entertainment Weekly. Coincidence?

 

[snowpuppy]

I actually saw the article a little while back and thought about posting it but I didn't wanna put him on the anvil again. To some degree I feel sorry (or even pity) on some of those athletes on the list. I am sure there were maybe circumtances which led to their current statures but I try to judge an athelete mostly by their performance (I have never really look up to any of them as role models).

I'll skip the racial thing with Hewitt (you can debate that all day long) but I feel all in all he isn't that bad of a guy. Sure he is ultra competitive, but he is a hard worker that seems dedicated to the sport and plays his heart out. Unlike some athletes i know that chokes coachs, skip practices, whines about how his millions "can't feed his kids", does good in during contract negoctiation, then disappear for the next few years.... etc etc. Just because a guy yells a little come'ons and give some mean looks, we are all so eager to put him on top of the real antics of Mac, conners and nastase. (Truth be told i think we are so desperate to find tennis' next villian that we became too quick to judge)

I think this is shouldn't be about what a rotten guy hewitt is but as to just how pathetic the journalism has became that a writer has to generate dumb controversial articles like this in a magazine that isn't even about sports just so that he can sell.

 

[alienhamster]

I'm not surprised. I still think the Blake incident was blow out of proportion by the Liberal media (Jesse Jackson made a much nastier comment about a certain religious group and after a little scorn was quickly forgiven).

Right . . . the same liberal media that obsessed about Monica Lewinsky for 3000 years. The same one that did little to question our move to go to war in the build-up to the invasion. That liberal media that does such an excellent job holding corporations accountable for their ethical violations. The one that does outstanding investigations of issues that deeply concern liberals (such as poverty and the lack of health care for a frightening number of Americans).

Sorry to redirect here, but I can't stand the repetition of this claim. The media isn't liberal. They're out to entertain/get ratings/make money, which means their primary bias is towards sensationalism.

That being said, I actually agree that people made too much of the Hewitt incident. But he's been such a jack@ss in so many other situations that I don't think it's unfair to hate on him.

 

[pound cat]

He's also the most disliked player in the locker room.

But obviously he couldn't care less. Some people are just nasty.

 

[tangerine]

A foreign tennis player making popularity lists in US publications? Excellent! Good to see that somebody is able to promote tennis in the states. Good job, Lleyton.

And really, the statute of limitations for that so-called "racist incident" has expired. Ancient history. Time to move on. James Blake has.

 

[vllockhart]

I can't stand Hewitt. I think he's a butthead. But I used to like him just because he bothered people with his animated antics. I didn't think there was a thing wrong with it because it was just his style. But the James Blake incident and his seeming overall demeanor is just icky to me. I never root for him although I didn't begrudge him for getting his game back together the last couple of years.

I always wondered what Kim Clijsters saw in him seeing as how many would agree she's probably about the MOST liked woman in the locker room. And don't think for a second that Lleyton started dating that actress AFTER he broke up with Kim. I think he's been extremely insensitive to her. (from an outsider's point of view).

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

Coria isn't important enough to make that list. He'd qualify if he was though.