Ever wanted a peek behind the curtain as to why a player such as Maria Sharapova can rake in more endorsement dollars than Serena despite a fraction of the on court success?
Perhaps here’s some insight as to why.
A racial discrimination lawsuit is being filed by a former employee of Gianvito Rossi. Here are the details.
According to reports, Serena Williams was allegedly discriminated against by shoe company Gianvito Rossi, with the company reportedly refusing to give the tennis superstar the same benefits and discounts that white celebrities would be given on the regular. The racial discrimination lawsuit was filed by a black woman and former employee of Rossi named Whitney Wilburn, and she noted in the lawsuit that employees and managers at the store referred to Williams as “disgusting.” The suit said, “For instance, when the world famous athlete, via her staff, asked for a discount on her extensive purchases, Gianvito managers responded with racially disparaging comments about Ms. Williams which made it clear that the company did not want African American women to wear its shoes.”
The suit also went on to say “When later pressured to do so by a contact at Vogue magazine, they offered only a fraction of the discount that white celebrities receive.” Wilburn spoke on her racial discrimination issues in the suit, saying that her boss was “hostile to her based upon her race and age.” Wilburn was fired without warning and a “much younger, white manager” was brought in to replace her.
All of this is alleged to have happened however discrimination in and around tennis is no mystery.
Annual earnings factor in on-court and endorsement dollars. According to Forbes last year, Serena Williams was able to eclipse Maria Sharapova after years of finishing behind her in total revenue. This of course timed up nicely with Sharapova losing several sponsors due to a positive test for a banned substance.