Serena Williams's number one fan — husband Alexis Ohanian — dared to go there at his wife's first match of the U.S. Open on Monday night.
Over at Arthur Ashe Stadium in L.A., Williams faced off against Maria Sharapova, a fierce competitor who has been in the game for almost as long as she has, and who was once painted as Serena's archrival. As usual, Ohanian was there in the stands rooting for his wife. But it was the message on his T-shirt that caught the attention of some attentive fans — the '80s-era tee reads, "D.A.R.E." (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), and was part of the "D.A.R.E. to say no to drugs" campaign that was launched in 1983.
So, what's that got to do with shade? Well, if you've been following tennis for as long as Serena and Sharapova have been in the game, you'll recall that the latter was banned from the sport in 2016 for two years after she tested positive for meldonium. According to Deadspin, Sharapova claimed she was prescribed the drug in 2005 for legitimate health reasons, but then didn't pay close enough attention to the banned substances list when it was updated to include meldonium in 2013. The independent tribunal that placed the ban on Sharapova didn't buy that argument, however, claiming that she went out of her way to hide the drug.
But banned substance use probably isn't the only reason that Ohanian donned the not-so-subtle message tee. Williams and Sharapova have a long history of beef between them over titles (Sharapova was consistently labeled "best female athlete" even as Williams continued to win matches against her and rack up titles), and each have taken public shots at the other over other personal matters like relationships.
Williams handily won on Monday night, bringing her record against Maria to 20-2 and her record against drugs to 100,000-0.
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