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Post by DBBN on Jan 17, 2011 20:23:46 GMT -5
Q. You called me a stalker the other day.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Yes.
Q. Have you had a problem with a stalker before?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Not until you, no. I don't know why you're here today. That shouldn't have happened. You even have a sign. Oh, goodness (laughter). That's wrong.
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Post by DBBN on Jan 17, 2011 20:25:25 GMT -5
www.news.com.au/world/new-zealand-journalist-accused-of-stalking-maria-sharapova-turns-up-at-media-conference/story-e6frfl00-1225990050043 A 'stalker' continues to freak out Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, the latest run-in coming after her first-round win over Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn in Melbourne on Monday. James McOnie, a New Zealand journalist is facing a possible censure from Australian Open officials after showing up at the post-game media conference where he unveiled a sign reading "I am not a stalker." "I dont know why you're here today," Sharapova said. "That shouldn't have happened. You even have a sign. Oh, goodness, that's wrong." James McOnie, who works for the spoof TV sports show A Crowd Goes Wild, first started showing up at Sharapova's press conferences during the ASB Classic in New Zealand earlier this month, asking odd-ball questions like did she need a personal shopper because he had impeccable taste. In Melbourne on Saturday, he asked if she frequented a club for "hot Russians" with compatriot Anna Kournikova, the Australian Associated Press reported. Sharapova recognized him on that occasion and said: "You're the guy from New Zealand, huh? Oh, God, you're stalking me!" "It's not stalking if you love someone," McOnie replied jokingly, to which Sharapova offered: "It can be slightly, trust me."
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Post by The Chloe on Jan 17, 2011 23:04:26 GMT -5
I assume that everybody here is just kidding.
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Post by DBBN on Jan 17, 2011 23:08:38 GMT -5
Well, I mean...it happened. Whether it's, like, performance art, I can't tell you.
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Post by Grarliner on Jan 18, 2011 16:24:50 GMT -5
It seems like he's kidding. I doubt Maria finds it very funny though. She is trying to put on a jovial face about it, though.
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Post by The Chloe on Jan 18, 2011 20:19:29 GMT -5
Yeah, I worked really hard to find a way to insult her here and the best I could come up with was "humourless", so I moved on.
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Post by Denise49IQ on Jan 19, 2011 18:46:30 GMT -5
I wouldn't find this particularly amusing. Because, well... it's kind of lame.
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Post by Grarliner on Jan 19, 2011 19:53:33 GMT -5
Yeah, I worked really hard to find a way to insult her here and the best I could come up with was "humourless", so I moved on. I just don't think it would be funny to any of the players. If this wasn't tennis, then MAYBE. But because of what happened to Monica and what happened with Steffi ... Graf in particular was stalked regularly throughout her career. And I'm even recalling a story where some teenage boy slit his wrists in front of her at a tournament or something ... Hingis and Kournikova had stalkers, pretty much all of the top female players, really. It's an issue so poisonous in this sport that to pretend to do it is the height of bad taste at the very least. |
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Post by The Chloe on Jan 19, 2011 20:47:23 GMT -5
Oh, I agree. I don't think she should be amused either. That's why calling her humourless wouldn't have worked.
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Post by DBBN on Jan 21, 2011 13:26:00 GMT -5
Q. Just a question on behalf of New Zealand. I know there were a few dramas earlier in the week or funny things. I just wanted you to confirm that there was no problems in New Zealand, that you had a good time there, because it's very important for our tourism. Did you have a good time?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: You couldn't even say that with a straight face.
Q. I was trying.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I know you did. Got to try harder. Which problems?
Q. Just the talk about stalking and that sort of thing.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I think that just got a little carried away with people reading the transcript and not showing up to the press conference.
Q. So New Zealand was a great experience?
MARIA SHARAPOVA: Does it go back to the tourism? What are we trying to prove here? Do I get a free boat ride next year if I say the right answer?
Q. Helicopter maybe.
MARIA SHARAPOVA: I don't know. That's a little shady.
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Post by R. Black on Jan 21, 2011 13:32:53 GMT -5
Auckland is really dull.
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Post by The Chloe on Jan 21, 2011 19:45:33 GMT -5
That was bitchy. I'd probably be rude to reporters, too.
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Post by The Chloe on Jan 21, 2011 19:49:10 GMT -5
Also, she didn't find the dead spot on the court very funny. So, stalking issue aside, I'm pretty sure that she is humourless.
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