World No.10 John Isner has slammed Lleyton Hewitt’s call for his coach Justin Gimelstob to be removed from the ATP Board after he was arrested for alleged assault.
Gimelstob is under police investigation after being accused of attacking venture capitalist Randall Kaplan as he walked down the street in West Los Angeles along with his wife and child. Kaplan, who is a former friend of Gimelstob, has claimed that he was hit 50 times during the attack and has since filed for a restraining order. The former tennis player, who works as a commentator and coach, is currently on a $50,000 bail and has taken leave from The Tennis Channel.
“Justin asked Tennis Channel for a leave of absence while he works through this issue. As he is a longtime, valued member of our network family, we of course granted it to him. We believe that in today’s climate, perhaps more than ever, it’s important to recognize due process and the fact that there are multiple sides to every story. We don’t want to rush to immediate judgment, and will follow this closely as more detail comes to light.” A statement from the network reads.
As well as the assault claims, The Telegraph has since outlined a series of other incidents involving the 41-year-old. Including one occasion in 2017 where he had to be ‘restrained by players, officials and spectators’ after trying to choke an opponent at a paddle tennis tournament in America. He has also been previously accused of making homophobic remarks, as well as domestic violence against his ex-wife. Although his lawyer, Shawn Holley, has denied this in a statement sent to metro.co.uk.
“Mr. Gimelstob unequivocally and absolutely denies ever engaging in domestic violence or homophobic behaviour of any kind. Any suggestions to the contrary are false.” Said Holley.
In the wake of the controversy, former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt has called for Gimelstob to be removed from the ATP Board. Gimelstob has been part of the seven-member board since 2008 and represent players from the Americas region. He has been previously mentioned as a potential successor to ATP CEO Chris Kermode.
The @ATPWorldTour must lead by example and do something about this. pic.twitter.com/EuTXwHbJOS
— Lleyton Hewitt (@lleytonhewitt) November 23, 2018
‘Innocent until proven guilty’
Responding to Hewitt, Isner has defended Gimelstob. A long-time member of his coaching team. During one stage of Isner’s career, Gimelstob accompanied him on the tour for a three-year period before it was halted by family issues facing the former player.
“Of course Justin is very close to me, as a friend and as a coach,” Isner told reporters on Tuesday, according to ESPN. “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.”
Isner, who won his maiden Masters title in Miami earlier this year, then went on to take a swipe at Hewitt. Bringing up an incident the Australian was involved in during the 2001 US Open. Hewitt, who was 20 at the time, attracted criticism after suggesting during his match against James Blake that the official penalised him because he had a similar skin colour to Blake. He was foot-faulted twice during the third set of the match by a black linesman. Afterwards Hewitt insisted that ‘there was nothing racial said out there’ and Blake gave him the benefit of the doubt.
“I don’t think [Justin] should take a leave right now,” Isner commented on Gimelstob’s position on the ATP Board.
“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 [at the 2001 US Open], and I’m not calling for his head, or for him to step down from working with Tennis Australia. He’s being arrogant.”
Gimelstob is out on bail until his hearing on December 12th.
