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Fired Tennis Announcer Suing ESPN, Claims He Never Called Venus Williams a 'Gorilla'

Doug Adler said he was referring to "guerilla" and that he's "anything but a racist."

ESPN fired tennis announcer Doug Adler for comparing Venus Williams to a "gorilla" while calling her match in the Australian Open last month.

Now, Adler is suing the Worldwide Leader in Sports, claiming he was wrongly fired for people thinking he was a racist, when he was actually referring to "guerilla" while making his commentary about Venus.

During Williams's match against Stefanie Voegele in the second round of the Australian Open, Adler claims he said, "You see Venus move in and put the guerilla effect on ... charging."

Adler told TMZ Sports that social media and media outlets alike ran with him saying "gorilla" when he actually said "guerilla" and called him a racist when he's "anything but a racist."

Adler claims he broke down the situation to ESPN, alleging that the company understood where he was coming from but then fired him anyway. And for that, he's suing the sports broadcasting giant for unspecified damages.

He additionally said that "guerilla" is a "frequently used" word in tennis when describing an aggressive style of play like Williams exhibited in that match.

You buying his explanation or nah?

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