Roger Federer denies gambling involvement
According to The Associated Press, tennis champion Roger Federer has denied any involvement in placing high stakes bets through his management company, a dispute that is related to a recent report in the New York Times.
According to the report, Ted Forstmann, an executive at IMG (International Management Group), is embroiled in a lawsuit. He has been purportedly accused of betting millions on a variety of athletic competitions. Federer stated that he spoke with Forstmann
upon learning of the lawsuit, which alleges that the executive placed bets on the 2007 French Open final, which featured Federer and (eventual champion) Rafael Nadal.
"I reached out to him and told him I want to know everything about it, how this came about," Federer told the newspaper. "And he’s been, you know, nice enough obviously to tell me from his side and has been very open in the press already. So that’s OK."
The tennis star has ties to IMG, a global sports and media business, as he is represented by Tony Godsick, an agent with the organization. "Tony is my guy, but still, it’s a firm that does a lot in sports," Federer said. "So it’s just something that for me
is important to know what is going on from their side, too."
Forstmann has admitted to gambling on Federer, as well as a number of other contests, but denied the claim that he had interfered or tampered with matches. "I might have called Roger before the match in 2007," he told
The Daily Beast, a website. "But Roger is a buddy of mine, and all I would be doing is wishing him luck."
Federer, meanwhile, is simply trying to clear his name of the whole situation, insinuating that he was only included by association.
"That name get thrown around, that you can’t help sometimes. That’s just the way it is. So from that side, for me it was crazy news to hear that, but obviously, it’s not a good thing when IMG or Ted Forstmann is involved in it."
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