'End a shameful period for our sport' – Wawrinka calls for response to Gimelstob case
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka has called on the ATP player council to act after Justin Gimelstob’s sentencing for assault and end “a shameful period” for the sport.
Gimelstob, 42, is one of three player representatives on the ATP board.
The American, also a former player, received three years probation and 60 days community service after pleading “no contest” to a battery charge.
Swiss Wawrinka, 33, says players “need to speak out” about the subject.
The player council, led by 15-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia, has the power to remove Gimelstob, but would need the consent of at least six of its 10 members.
“It simply cannot be possible for anyone to condone this type of behaviour and, worse, support it,” Wawrinka, who has won Australian Open, French Open and US Open titles, posted on social media.
“In any other business or sport we would not be discussing this.
“The ATP council needs to do something about this and finally end this conversation and shameful period in our great sport.”
Wawrinka’s comments come after Britain’s Andy Murray became the first leading player to call on Gimelstob to quit his role on the ATP board.
Gimelstob, who has also worked as a coach and TV commentator, was sentenced in Los Angeles last week.
Former friend Randall Kaplan alleged that early in the evening of 31 October, Gimelstob “punched him in the head and face more than 50 times” in front of Kaplan’s pregnant wife Madison and two-year-old daughter.
Mrs Kaplan went on to have a miscarriage, which the couple believe was a result of the stress of the attack.
“I don’t see, with everything that has gone on, how it’s possible for him to remain in a position of authority or management at the ATP right now,” Murray told The Telegraph.
Following Gimelstob’s sentencing, the ATP said his future was a “subject for review by the board and/or the player council”.
It added: “The election for the role of the next Americas player representative on the ATP board – the position currently held by Gimelstob – will take place as scheduled on Tuesday, 14 May in Rome.”