Tennis Channel commentator and ATP board member Justin Gimelstob was arrested on suspicion of felony battery on Halloween. Gimelstob allegedly attacked and beat venture capitalist Randall Kaplan, hitting him in the head and on the face over and over while shouting, “I’m going to f—— kill you.” Kaplan is a friend of Gimelstob’s estranged wife.
Lleyton Hewitt responded to the allegations by posting the following on Twitter:
The @ATPWorldTour must lead by example and do something about this. pic.twitter.com/EuTXwHbJOS
— Lleyton Hewitt (@lleytonhewitt) November 23, 2018
John Isner, with whom Gimelstob still works on a part-time basis, came to his fellow American’s defense earlier this week while taking a shot at Hewitt.
“Of course Justin is very close to me, as a friend and as a coach,” Isner explained. “But even if he wasn’t, at the current time I would still support him because he’s innocent until proven guilty. We’ll know the facts soon enough. It might not be a popular opinion, but as of now I have to give Justin benefit of doubt.
“I don’t think [Gimelstob] should take a leave right now. We don’t know the facts yet. Hewitt doesn’t know the facts, either. He’s the guy who was involved in his own nasty situation with James Blake. I’m not calling for his head or for him to step down from working with Tennis Australia, (but) he’s being arrogant.”
Isner was referencing an incident between Hewitt and Blake at the 2001 U.S. Open. The Aussie, 20 years old at the time, made racially-charged comments while arguing with the chair umpire during a second-round showdown.
“Look at him (the linesman) and tell me what the similarity is (with Blake),” Hewitt quipped. “I want him off the court. I’ve only been foot-faulted at one end. Look at what he’s done.”
Gimelstob has taken a leave of absence from the Tennis Channel. The ATP player council, led by Novak Djokovic, will discuss Gimelstob’s status on the board sometime this week.
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thoughts?
Ha. I was at that match between Hewitt and Blake. I think it was in Armstrong stadium…anyway, we were close enough to hear the exchange and we were all…uh…..WHAT did he just say???? The crowd already didn’t like Hewitt. After they (we?) were merciless.
As for Gimelstob, he has been accused of assault on a number of occasions. I have a feeling he’s going down this time. At the very least, he’ll lose his board position.
Gimelstob gives me the creeps and would even if he’d never assaulted or maligned anyone. It’s just the way it is. I’d love to see him gone, but I don’t see a need for the ATP to rush to judgment. I think his hearing is in a few days. Of course if Gimelstob had a shred of decency he’d at least take a leave of absence pending his day(s) in court. I’d be surprised if he shows up on TC again.
BTW, he’s a big dude. If he hit someone FIFTY times, why is his victim still alive?
“Innocent until proven guilty.” Lets wait for the facts before everyone crucifies him. We seem to want to jump to conclusions before we have proof. I also have two questions. Why did the guy wait 3 weeks to say anything if he was hit 50 times in the face and head? Why isn’t he in the hospital? Sorry 3 questions. if Justin has a history of this, including statements bt his ex-wife, why would she let him near their little boy? As a mother, that’s the first thing I would stop. Something just doesn’t add up right.