Former tennis pro-turned-commentator Brad Gilbert inserts foot in mouth over player’s “fruity” outfit

Meant to bring this up yesterday after reading it on AfterElton.com.

Brad Gilbert, a man who has been a far more successful as a coach coach than he was a player, committed a very stupid faux paus. He was doing commentary for the Juan Martin Del Porto match on ESPN and had some things to say about the fifth-ranked Argentine player’s tennis attire:

Gilbert:” I’m giving a big thumbs-up to Del Potro’s all-black gear. It looks physical, he’s stepping up. They had him in too much of a fruity-looking outfit at the French and Wimbledon. Now he’s looking like a physical specimen. He could be a nice guard in the NBA.”

Fruity? What? Did he look like a banana? A mango?

Brad, you’re not on the playground in fifth grade where, unfortunately, this kind of thing is all too prevelant. Gilbert, once ranked as high as fourth in world, has also coached Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray. He’s always been one of the game’s more articulate players so this kind of thing is very disappointing and, frankly, inexusable.