Ilie Nastase, the captain of the Romanian Fed Cup team, has come in the eye of the storm after making racist comments about Serena Williams and her to-be born child. The 70-year-old made his remarks during the media interaction after the draw ceremony of the World Group II Play-offs tie between Romania and Great Britain on Friday.
In the teams’ post-draw press conference, Simona Halep was asked a question about Serena Williams’ pregnancy announcement. While the world No 5 was answering the question posed to her, Nastase crudely commented in Romanian, “Let’s see what colour it [the baby] has. Chocolate with milk?”
Nastase’s remarks didn’t go too well with the tennis fraternity and among the American’s large fanbase across the world. This isn’t the first time that Nastase has targeted Williams. Earlier in March, he made an oblique reference to her using doping substances to improve her on-court results.
The International Tennis Federation has, meanwhile, released a statement that it will be carrying out an investigation on Nastase’s crude statement. The statement also went on to mention, “We are aware of alleged comments made by Romanian captain Ilie Nastase and have begun an immediate investigation so that we have the full facts of the situation before taking further and appropriate action.”
Nastase’s verbal gaffes for the day weren’t restricted to Williams alone. He also insulted his colleague Anne Keothavong, who is the captain of the British Fed Cup team, by asking her to give him the room number of her hotel. A former British No 1, Keothavong, however, politely brushed off Nastase.