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Arthur Ashe once shed light on the reaction to John McEnroe's fiery outburst at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships. Ashe revealed that the All England Club was infuriated over the American's controversial conduct.
Known for his fiery on-court behavior, McEnroe's volatile attitude was on display during his opening match at Wimbledon 1981. Entering the grasscourt Major as the second seed and previous year's runner-up, the American took on compatriot Tom Gullikson in his tournament opener.
The match took a controversial turn when John McEnroe struck an ace that was called out by the chair umpire Edward James. Incensed over what he believed to be the wrong call, the second seed approached the umpire and launched into an angry tirade, famously shouting the iconic phrase, "You cannot be serious," and calling the officials the "absolute pits."
"Chalk came up all over the place. You can’t be serious, man. You cannot be serious! That ball is on the line. Chalk flew up. It was clearly in. How can you possibly call that out? How many you can miss? Everybody knows it’s in – the whole stadium – and you call it out?" John McEnroe yelled.
"Explain that to me, will you? He's walking over, everyone knows it's in, this whole stadium and you call it out? Explain that to me, will you? You guys are the absolute pits of the world!" he continued.
Despite receiving a warning, McEnroe had no qualms about showcasing his outrage when another line call went against him in the following game, as he called the umpire an "incompetent fool" and demanded the referee's presence.
"You are an incompetent fool, an offence against the world," he said.
Even after referee Fred Hoyles arrived, the American's anger did not subside, going so far as to swear at the referee. The situation escalated to the point that tournament officials were on the brink of defaulting McEnroe from the Major.
Arthur Ashe later revealed that the Wimbledon organizers were "burning mad" at John McEnroe's controversial conduct, emphasizing that their anger had even surpassed their outrage over Jimmy Connors "insulting" the Queen by skipping the centenary celebration in 1977.
"I've never seen Wimbledon so mad, I mean burning. Not even when Connors insulted the Queen by not showing up for the centenary celebration in 1977," Arthur Ashe said (via Sports Illustrated).
John McEnroe was denied honorary All England Club membership over his on-court outbursts after Wimbledon 1981 triumph
Wimbledon's displeasure with John McEnroe's angry on-court outbursts was evident when the American was not granted the traditional honorary membership to the All England Club, despite winning his maiden title by claiming a 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(4), 6-4 win over five-time defending champion Bjorn Borg in the 1981 final.
Outraged over the snub, McEnroe boycotted the champions' dinner, forgoing the opportunity to dance with the women's champion. Chris Evert clinched the women's singles title that year, beating Hana Mandlikova 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
McEnroe eventually received his honorary membership to the All England Club after becoming a repeat champion, having clinched his second Wimbledon title by triumphing over Chris Lewis 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the 1983 final.
