Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian trolls Maria Sharapova over drug ban with 'DARE' t-shirt
Serena Williams' husband allegedly took a thinly-veiled dig at his wife's opponent Maria Sharapova after observers on social media pointed out his anti-drug t-shirt during the highly anticipated US Open bout on Monday.
While Williams won the match in just under an hour, her husband, Reddit co-creator Alexis Ohanian, grabbed headlines for controversial reasons, Daily Mail reports. This was Williams' 19th straight victory over the Russian.
Alexis was accompanied by Serena's mother and dog Chip as he applauded his wife's performance after she trounced her opponent. However, eagle-eyed social media users did not miss his shirt, which was emblazoned with the letters 'D.A.R.E'.
The acronym stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, a program that seeks to prevent use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs, and violent behavior. This gave credence to some who thought he wore it as a reference to Sharapova's 2016 ban after she tested positive for a prohibited substance.
Then 29, the Russian athlete had her two-year ban reduced to 15 months after she claimed the drug was for medical purposes and that she didn't know it had been added to the restricted list.
But she tested positive against Williams after yet another defeat at the quarter-final stage of the Australian Open.
“I did not feel it was a huge responsibility of mine to write all those medications down," Sharapova said at the time. "As I said before, in hindsight, this is a mistake of mine... I did not feel it was a responsibility to have to write down every single match drink I was taking, gel, vitamin that I was taking, even if I took it once during the last seven days. I did not think it was of high importance.”
That said, reactions on Twitter appeared to be split on whether Ohanian's stunt was funny, petty, or just unnecessary.
"Serena's husband is so petty for this shirt!" one user commented.
"Serena's husband is truly appalling. Can't stand that guy. A disrespectful t***. People like him are what make these losses painful," another wrote.
However, one user thought Ohanian was only cheerleading for his wife.
"LOL now that is a supportive husband," they wrote.
What's more? Ohanian himself appeared to confirm speculations after liking a series of tweets praising him for the act. "The second drag of the Serena-Sharapova match happened off the court, with @alexisohanian in a d.a.r.e shirt. If you know, you know," read one viral tweet liked by Ohanian.