One of Tennis Channel’s top personalities, former Grand Slam doubles champion Justin Gimelstob, is being sidelined in the wake of a recent arrest on felony battery charges and an expose in The Telegraph listing a string of alleged assaults by the former tennis pro over the past three years.
“Justin asked Tennis Channel for a leave of absence while he works through this issue,” the Sinclair-owned network said in a statement to Deadline. “As he is a longtime, valued member of our network family, we of course granted it to him. We believe that in today’s climate, perhaps more than ever, it’s important to recognize due process and the fact that there are multiple sides to every story. We don’t want to rush to immediate judgment, and will follow this closely as more detail comes to light.”
Gimelstob was arrested on Nov. 21 for allegedly attacking his former friend, venture capitalist Randall Kaplan, on Halloween. According to a temporary restraining order filing, the tennis broadcaster threw Kaplan to the ground before hitting him 50 times while threatening to kill him. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 12.
Other incidents noted in the Telegraph story including a verbal attack on a man Gimelstob played doubles agains during a table tennis tournament last year. It was triggered by a line call that allegedly involved the former pro player calling the man “stupid” and a “f—-t.”
There were also an alleged confrontation with a friend of his estranged wife at a restaurant in Santa Monica in March 2016 and accusations by his estranged wife of abuse and assault, leading to her filing a domestic restraining order.
Gimelstob, a member of the Association of Tennis Professionals board, has denied the allegations. The professional 2018 tennis season recently ended, with the new one slated to begin in a month when Tennis Channel will resume coverage with its star analysts.
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