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Head of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpischev won’t be spearheading any sporting events in his country anytime soon.

The Women’s Tennis Association recently gave Tarpischev a heavy hand of discipline for remarks towards Venus and Serena Williams that most have deemed racist, sexist and downright inappropriate.

He jokingly refered to the two tennis legends as “The Williams Brothers.”

TIME Reports:

The WTA suspended Shamil Tarpischev for a year and fined him $25,000 after he referred to Williams and her sister, fellow tennis champion Venus Williams, as “the Williams brothers” and said “it’s scary when you really look at them,” the Washington Post reports.

“I think the WTA did a great job of taking initiative and taking immediate action to his comments,” Williams said in Singapore on Sunday at the WTA Tour Finals. “I thought they were very insensitive and extremely sexist as well as racist at the same time. I thought they were in a way bullying. ”

Tarpischev, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee, said the comments were a “joke” in a statement.

“I didn’t want to offend any athlete with my words,” he said. “I regret that this joke has garnered so much attention. I don’t think this incident deserves so much fuss.”

The fact that Tarpischev doesn’t see his comments as a big deal speaks volumes for color of his character.

Photo: WENN