US tennis star shuts down attempt to get her to criticize Donald Trump

A US tennis star has brutally shot down a reporter at the Australian Open after they questioned how she felt about representing America. Women's tennis star Amanda Anisimova met the media on Tuesday after her second round 6-1, 6-4 victory over Czech star Katerina Siniakova in Melbourne. Her post-match interview should have been an opportunity to celebrate her progress in the Australian Open but, instead, one reporter used it to speak about politics. The reporter asked: 'I've been asking a lot of the American players how it feels to play under the American flag right now. I'm curious how you feel...' The 24-year-old responded: 'I was born in America so I'm always proud to represent my country. A lot of us are doing really well. 'It's great to see a lot of great athletes on the women's and men's side,' she added. However, the reporter persisted. He added: 'In the context of the last year of everything that's been happening in the US, does that complicate that feeling at all?' Anisimova, seemingly irked by the repeated line of questioning, bluntly replied: 'I don’t think that’s relevant'. In recent months, a number of political issues in America have seeped into the sports world - with players, fans and coaches expressing their opinions in some form. At the start of the month, the death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother who was shot and killed by an ICE agent, ignited a furious response across the United States. Among those to speak out on the issue were former US soccer star Megan Rapinoe and ESPN host Stephen A. Smith. Rapinoe, a longtime opponent of Donald Trump, weighed in on the controversy on her podcast, 'A Touch More,' where she said that Good's death is 'just so sad.' 'I think this has been abnormal for the entire time the Trump administration has been conducting these raids and disappearing people,' she said. 'They’re knocking people’s phones out of their hands. It’s lawful to do that. They’re basically intimidating and threatening people not to protest and not to track what they’re doing, and that’s a lot of what was happening in Minneapolis. 'The community coming out, keeping their eyes on ICE - where are they, trying to stamp their people, impeding them in what feels (like) a very unlawful way of doing these immigration raids. 'It’s just really sad. Obviously, our heart goes out to Renee Good’s family and her community and all the people that love her and support her.' Meanwhile, ESPN host Smith was forced to backtrack after initially claiming ICE agent Jonathan Ross was 'completely justified... from a lawful perspective'. Two days on from those comments and Smith slammed how his words were reported and moved to clarify his position on the incident once and for all. Elsewhere, on Sunday, a man attending an NBA game in London yelled 'leave Greenland alone' in the wake of Trump's bid to seize control of the territory. The heckler interrupted actress Vanessa Williams as she performed 'The Star Spangled Banner' just before the Memphis Grizzlies and Orlando Magic tipped off Sunday. The remark drew a round of applause from the crowd at London's O2 Arena as Trump continues his saber rattling over the island. Meanwhile, a stunning report released this week revealed how many US sports stars really support Donald Trump. Using publicly available voter data from 23 states and the District of Columbia, VoteHub explained it has been able to 'collect the party identification on 1,506 athletes across the “Big Four" (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL) and the WNBA'. The league with the most Republican support is Major League Baseball, with 53.7% of players backing Trump's party from a sample of 434. There aren't many names in the league who have publicly endorsed the president but when Trump visited the Yankees on 9/11, the locker room was full to welcome the President. Whether that translates as voting support though, is another thing and the players may well have decided to put their own individual allegiances to one side on an emotional day in the city. The second sport that backs Trump and the Republican party the most is hockey, with 43.9% of players out 109 sampled counting as red. There were six democrats and 50 independents who were also counted. Perhaps surprisingly, only around a fifth - 20.2% - of NFL players out of a 752-player sample size are Republican, with 34.3% counting as Democrat. It's also the league where the most players have been open in their support of Trump.