Coco Gauff rips the USTA and the USTA quickly backs away
By Lee Vowell
Coco Gauff was three months old when the animated series, The Wild Thornberrys, stopped airing original episodes. Maybe she does not appreciate the uniqueness and artwork of the series and maybe she would have if she were older, but to be fair, I didn't much like the art style of the series, either.
But this post isn't about me, of course, but instead how Coco Gauff simply punished the USTA on social media for a USTA post showing American tennis players in the style of The Wild Thornberrys. The idea behind the USTA social media share was supposed to be a "hype post" but the idea was a stupid one. As Coco Gauff and others pictured in the post said in reactions on social media, the players look ridiculously ugly.
Very quickly the USTA took down the post. Hopefully, whoever green-lit the concept and allowed the post did not get fired. We can assume, though, that they got a stern talking to.
Coco Gauff reacts harshly to USTA's Wild Thornberrys post
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Gauff said of the USTA post, "Worst thing I've ever seen. Like a caricature artist decided to make [us] all look like hideous-looking people. The art style is cool for a cartoon show but not for a hype post. Foul."
Gauff also said in the same post that she would have preferred to have been drawn in Bratz style instead of The Wild Thornberrys. Gauff is also correct. The players look awful.
Gauff was not the only player to comment on the post, either. Jessica Pegula, Gauff's long-term doubles partner, said simply, "We are ugly as f***." That kind of vitriolic response forced USTA's hand, but they should have never posted the picture in the first place.
I assume The Wild Thornberrys was chosen because the cartoon featured an American family of wildlife documentary, but even basing a post on that is a reach. Message to the USTA: Do better.