Former doubles champion Bob Hewitt has been suspended from the International Tennis Hall of Fame after an investigation into allegations he sexually abused girls he coached, and his legacy has been stripped from the institution.
The Hall executive committee voted unanimously this week to suspend Hewitt indefinitely after an outside investigation deemed credible the allegations of multiple women who said they were abused by Hewitt while he was coaching them decades ago.
The Australian-born Hewitt won 15 grand slam doubles titles in the 1960s and 1970s and was inducted into the Hall in 1992.
No one has ever been suspended or expelled from the Hall.
Hall CEO Mark Stenning said the committee did not consider expulsion because it was believed that would require a criminal conviction.
A man with an Australian accent who answered Hewitt’s South African-listed mobile number on Friday said he was “not available for comment.”
The Weekend Post newspaper in South Africa – where he lives – quoted him last year as saying, “I only want to apologise if I offended anyone in any way.”
Stenning said Hewitt’s plaque in the Hall and other references to him there and on the Hall’s website, were removed on Thursday.