Richard Williams, the father of famed tennis players, Serena and Venus Williams appeared on Howard Stern today, where he discussed a number of hot topics, including: divorce, the racist "white devils" that once beat him, Andre Agassi's father and much more.
Howard opened the interview by discussing how badly Richard has been treated by white people during his life:
Howard: I was reading the book....Do you hate white people as a result of the way you were treated, they've been terrible to you
.
Richard: They have been more than terrible. They've been dogs...hell...the devil and everything, but I don't hate anyone.
Howard: Before we get into tennis, your mom was picking cotton, working hard in the field. And you start growing up, and right away white people were chasing you...they beat you...you said you were chased with a stick, a bat, chains, a gun, your nose was broken three times and your teeth were knocked out. And your father was a son of a bitch. He didn't do anything to help you.
Richard: Fear can take over and make a person do things they would never do. He had nothing but fear, chances are he was born that way with fear. But I couldn't live that way. And I wasn't going to live that way. I was going to achieve my dream.
Howard also brought up Richard's divorce from the mother of Venus and Serena:
Richard: It was a bad marriage, a BAD marriage. She was crazy! I think maybe there was just too much money, too much exposure all at one time. Being a country boy like me, it was hard to understand that.
The subject of Andre Agassi's father, who the legendary tennis player hates, also came up. When asked by Howard if he agreed with Agassi's father's training style, Richard responded:
Richard: I don't know the condition of what his father based [his harsh treatment] on. I will say, putting Venus and Serena in an all-white sport will make them tougher than putting them in the ghetto. I will say Agassi's father was a great guy from what I talked about. Agassi [hates his father] but I like him.
Howard: Do your daughters hate you?
Richard: What do you call hate? They talk to me all the time. Venus stated in that (NY Times) article, she said she loved her father and would do anything for me. I was never tough. That's a picture the white race put on me.
