Economist blogger Craig Newmark has linked to a hilarious Andy Roddick press conference. Roddick is so refreshing, answering questions honestly rather than doing the evasion and bulls**t that so many people at press conferences do. There’s something else to note in this one: Roddick’s economic literacy.
Here’s the relevant question and his answer:
Reporter: How much would you have paid in order to not have to come to the press conference tonight?
Andy: That’s about the best question that’s been asked. Well I can’t really say an amount because I would have gotten fined 20 thousand dollars [for not coming to the press conference]. So it would have to be less than that, right? If we’re thinking logically? But it wouldn’t be about the money. It would be about running away and not facing it. I would pay a lot of money if people would make stuff up and pretend I said it.
READER COMMENTS
Monte
Aug 30 2009 at 9:06pm
While Roddick may aquit himself admirably on the tennis court, I personally think he’s a poor ambassador for the sport (along with the Williams sisters) and shows a total lack of decorum in dealing with the press or the public. He’s a cocky, inconsiderate b—–d who deserves every piece of humble pie Roger Federer has ever served him.
How about the economic literacy of James Blake? At least he attended Harvard.
Kevin
Sep 1 2009 at 9:13am
From Roddick’s interview last night:
Q. In baseball they have hitting coaches. In the NBA they’ll have shooting specialists, free throw specialists. Why do you not see serving gurus in tennis?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I feel like the team pays for the free throw specialist. You know where I’m going with this, right?
Q. It’s a matter of economics?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, yeah. Let’s be honest with ourselves for a second. If you’re looking at making six figures a year, you’re going to have to be in the top 80 as a tennis player. You have to pay for all your own expenses. You’re not going to see that much.
I think you’ve seen kind of the precedent. I think Andy Murray hired Corretja for clay. You have to be making some bank in order to take on those expenses. We pay for all of our own stuff.
So I think that’s probably the difference. We would probably all have everything if that was the case.
Colin K
Sep 1 2009 at 10:26am
Imagine if politicians handled press conferences that way…
Joe Ruby
Sep 1 2009 at 3:10pm
I know nothing about tennis or Roddick’s attitude with the press, but I do know he performed admirably in a real life emergency.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1460812/Tennis-star-Roddick-saves-lives-in-Rome-fire.html
Two of the people he helped were my parents, who had to jump down a story to Roddick’s balcony.
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