"So shortsighted and dumb" - Andy Roddick lashes out on America's book censorship
Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick has lashed out at book censorship in the United States of America and termed the move "shortsighted and dumb."
Roddick's reaction comes after a school district in Pennsylvania temporarily banned the 'Girls Who Code' book series for young readers.
More than 1,500 unique book titles have been banned by various schools across the USA, after conservative pushes to censor books.
The decision did not go down well with Roddick, who took to social media to express his displeasure. He opined that the government cannot be pro-economy and anti-education.
"Banning books that encourage girls to code. There is no bottom. God forbid people learn and become more educated. It’s all just so dumb. You can’t be pro economy and anti education. So so shortsighted and dumb," he tweeted.
@guardian Banning books that encourage girls to code. There is no bottom. God forbid people learn and become more educated. It’s all just so dumb. You can’t be pro economy and anti education. So so shortsighted and dumb
According to a report in The Guardian, a total of 1,648 books have been banned by school districts in 32 states across the country. More than 5,000 schools nationally have had books barred from access by students in libraries and classrooms.
Andy Roddick shares heartfelt tribute to Roger Federer
During his playing days, Andy Roddick had an underwhelming record against Roger Federer, who recently called time on his professional tennis career.
The former US Open winner lost all of his eight Grand Slam matches against Federer, with four defeats coming in the finals. The American was Federer's rival before Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic entered the scene.
Roddick took to social media to pay tribute to the Swiss legend and wish him well in retirement.
"When I hear the name of Roger, I get nightmares because he gave me nightmares for so long. But Roger is all class. He acts the same way when no one is watching. I worry about a lot of people post-retirement; Roger is not one of them," he said in a video.
Kind words on 💯
We asked several of @rogerfederer's contemporaries to share their thoughts on the legend. https://t.co/fylfGhZWcq
Roddick also spoke about how the Big 3 pushed each other over the years, making each of them more complete players.
Roddick wasn't a part of the 2022 Laver Cup, the Swiss' swan song in tennis. Federer opined that it "would be even cooler" had Roddick been part of the exhibition event.