Fury over tennis star's taunting tug-of-war with lioness at 'infamous' zoo

[Sherman A1]

German tennis player Alexander Zverev, a permanent fixture in the top 10 since 2017, has been criticized for showing footage of himself taunting a lion in a tug-of-war match at a private zoo in Dubai.

Zverev won the 2021 ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, on Nov 28. He beat Daniil Medvedev, the Russian defending champion, in straight sets. He went to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, to collect his prize money, over $2.1 million.

The footage shows the tennis ace pulling on a thick rope, along with Brazilian tennis player Marcelo Melo, while the animal inside its enclosure pulls on the other end.

https://krcgtv.com/news/nation-world/fury-over-tennis-stars-taunting-tug-of-war-with-lioness-at-infamous-zoo

[Raftergirl]

1. He's an ass.

But I wish I saw more fury over his propensity for domestic violence.

[malaise]

2. There are other issues with this one

re violence against a girlfriend. He's not a nice person.


https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/12425929/alexander-zverev-atp-investigating-allegations-of-domestic-abuse-made-by-former-girlfriend

The ATP has announced it is investigating high-profile allegations of domestic abuse made by the former girlfriend of Olympic champion Alexander Zverev.

Last October, former junior player Olga Sharypova publicly accused the world number four of a series of serious assaults, to which he issued a blanket denial.

An interview with Sharypova published in the American online magazine Slate in August/

The ATP has been heavily criticised for a lack of action but the organisation has now announced an investigation into Sharypova's allegations regarding Shanghai, with a statement adding: "The ATP fully condemns any form of violence or abuse and will investigate such allegations related to conduct at an ATP member tournament."

[11 Bravo]

3. I play tug of war with my rescue lab all the time.

The fact that she frequently initiates our game by bringing her toy to me leads me to believe that she does not feel abused.

[Botany]

4. I don't know how good the conditions are where the lion lives but that lion(ess?) was having fun ...

.... in that video. She is a 200 lbs plus smart animal and if she didn't want to play tug of
war she wouldn't.

[Disaffected]

5. Hmm,

whatever else one may think of zoos, that wasn't taunting IMO (more like playing, similar to tug o' war with a dog).

[Phoenix61]

6. Cats play when they want to. If the cat

didn’t want to play it would have ignored them.