Tennis star Coco Gauff thanks American sprinter Noah Lyles for ‘forming the Avengers’ – urging USA Basketball to assemble the most dangerous team for this summer’s Olympics did.
Lyles infamously questioned the NBA’s calling of title winners “world champions,” explaining how the term is inaccurate for the North American league, which only includes teams based in the United States and Canada.
The track and field star, who won gold medals in the 100m and 200m at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, faced heavy criticism from NBA players for his comments, many of them from the NBA. denied his rationale, saying the best basketball players in the world were assembled. world.
After that, the U.S. national team did poorly at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, losing to Germany in the semifinals and to Canada in the bronze medal game, finishing in 4th place, but then formed a super squad that included LeBron James and others for the Paris Olympics. , Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Anthony Edwards, Kawhi Leonard.
Gauff is in awe of the star power of the U.S. men’s basketball team, which heads to Abu Dhabi this July to participate in two exhibition games ahead of the Olympics.
“I’m so excited for the Olympics. Our team is incredible,” said Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open women’s champion and a medal contender in singles, doubles and mixed doubles this summer in Paris. Told.
“If we lose…if we lose, I don’t know, the world will stop spinning. I don’t know how many Hall of Famers there are on that team.
“Noah Lyles, I’ve never met him, but people seem to want to say he started a super team because of his comments about the NBA.” [champions] Be a world champion. So, thank you, Noah Lyles, for forming the Avengers,” she added with a laugh.
Gauff, ranked third in the world and competing in the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid this week, has developed a strong and outspoken personality from an early age. Whether it’s speaking out about social injustice, educating the public about black history, or taking a stand for gender equality in sports, the 20-year-old is unwavering in her beliefs and willing to follow suit. It seems that they are preparing to raise it to the level of
Gauff was also asked if she would consider investing in women’s sports after Serena Williams recently told CNN that she is interested in owning a WNBA team.
“That’s definitely something I’ve talked about with my dad about what I want to do. I don’t have Serena’s pocket yet, but maybe it’s like a small stake where she can afford to own the whole team.” It means that,” Gauff said.
“But it’s probably a small percentage. Whether it’s the WNBA or women’s soccer, that’s what I really want to do. Just invest in it and promote it.
“I’m really happy. I probably saw that boom over the last two years and was inspired to do it. To be honest, I’m still young and I always thought I should do something later in life. But why not take advantage of this opportunity now? So one day. But Serena, she understands that.
Updated: April 24, 2024, 6:25 a.m.