ESPN attempted to hide the fact Coco Gauff prayed after winning her first U.S. Open title on Saturday.
Shortly after Gauff defeated her opponent to claim the title, she got into a prayer position on the side of the court and started to thank God for her victory.
ESPN commentatorS attempted to paint a different picture and stated Gauff was taking “a moment to soak it all in after winning her first Grand Slam title.”
Super Bowl champion coach Tony Dungy blasted the network and stated “I hate to break this to you SportsCenter but Coco Gauff was not ‘soaking it all in’ at this moment. She was praying. She has been very open about her Christian faith in the past. It seems pretty obvious what she is doing here,”
Dungy is right, Gauff has not been shy about her Christian faith, and in her first interview after her big win, she gave God glory.
.@CocoGauff took a moment to soak it all in after winning her first Grand Slam title ❤️ pic.twitter.com/elBGm2wQeC
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 9, 2023
I hate to break this to you SportsCenter but Coco Gauff was not “soaking it all in” at this moment. She was praying. She has been very open about her Christian faith in the past. It seems pretty obvious what she is doing here. https://t.co/UOZ6zoCEPC
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) September 10, 2023
Here’s what Fox News reported:
Super Bowl champion head coach Tony Dungy had some choice words for ESPN’s “SportsCenter” X account on Saturday night after Coco Gauff won her first U.S. Open title.
After Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, the “SportsCenter” account wrote that the tennis phenom “took a moment to soak it all in after winning her first Grand Slam title.”
Dungy took aim at the account and asserted that Gauff was praying.
“I hate to break this to you SportsCenter but Coco Gauff was not ‘soaking it all in’ at this moment. She was praying. She has been very open about her Christian faith in the past. It seems pretty obvious what she is doing here,” Dungy wrote.
Gauff spoke about her faith after winning the first Grand Slam title of her career after she was asked what it meant to her to win the title on home soil.
“Oh my goodness. It means so much to me. I feel like I’m a little bit in shock in this moment,” Gauff said. “That French Open loss was a heartbreak for me. I realized God puts you through tribulations and trials. This makes this moment even more sweeter than I could imagine.
“I don’t pray for results. I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all. Whatever happens, happens. I’m so blessed in this life. I’m just thankful for this moment. I don’t have any words for it, to be honest.”
Coco Gauff is proud of her faith:
"That French Open loss was a heartbreak. I realized God puts you through trials. I don’t pray for results. I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all. Whatever happens happens. I’m so blessed in this life." pic.twitter.com/GVcnWIGoDV
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 10, 2023
Per Sports Psectrum:
A straight-sets loss in the 2022 French Open final was tough for Coco Gauff to swallow. But on Saturday, she found herself in another Grand Slam final, and this time it was her moment.
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The 19-year-old U.S. tennis star defeated Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to claim her first Grand Slam title and become the first American teenager to win the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999.
After losing the first set 6-2, the sixth-seeded Gauff dominated the second and third sets to knock off the second-seeded Sabalenka. Following the match, Gauff was overcome with emotion, falling to the court in tears before running into the stands to embrace her family and coaches. Then she headed back to the court, where she kneeled at her chair and said a prayer to God.
“It’s been so important,” Gauff said after the match when asked about her faith by ESPN’s Mary Jo Fernandez. “I don’t pray for results, I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all and whatever happens happens. I’m so blessed in this life. So I’m just thankful for this moment. I don’t have any words for it, to be honest.”
Users on X poked fun at ESPN:
Old Man and the Sea took a moment to soak it all in after winning his first Grand Slam title ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ml5DH3AfyH
— Scott Barber (@thescottbarber) September 10, 2023
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