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Serena Williams may be a tennis champion, but she didn’t win any friends after a strange quote in a Rolling Stone interview regarding the victim of the Steubenville r-pe case.  Now, Williams is alleging that she may have not made the remark in a public statement.

The Internets were ablaze with criticism after the 2013 French Open singles champion seemingly blamed the 16-year-old victim for her predicament.

“I’m not blaming the girl, but if you’re a 16-year-old and you’re drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don’t take drinks from other people,” said Williams to Rolling Stone. “Obviously, I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t a virgin, but she shouldn’t have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that’s different.”

Sensing the public relations disaster, Williams issued a backpedaling statement that suggests she was perhaps misquoted by the magazine.

From Serena Williams’ website:

What happened in Steubenville was a real shock for me. I was deeply saddened. For someone to be r-ped, and at only sixteen, is such a horrible tragedy! For both families involved – that of the r-pe victim and of the accused. I am currently reaching out to the girl’s family to let her know that I am deeply sorry for what was written in the Rolling Stone article. What was written – what I supposedly said – is insensitive and hurtful, and I by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame.

Recognizing her position as a role model for young girls and women, Williams mentioned of her support and offered prayers for the victim.

Thus far, there has not been a response from the family of the teenager. Stephen Rodrick, the Rolling Stones writer who grabbed the quote, says that Williams did indeed make the remarks and has the audio to prove it. “The interview is on tape. Other than that, I’ll let the story speak for itself,” Rodrick told the Poynter Institute.

Photo: Getty Images