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0 Protestors brought a halt to Coco Gauff‘s US Open semifinal match vs. Karolina Muchova, resulting in a nearly hour-long delay after a fossil fuel protestor glued his feet to the concrete inside Arthur Ashe stadium.
With the American leading 6-4 1-0, protestors caused a stoppage to the delicately poised matchup. Astoundingly, 49 minutes had passed before the game was restarted.
The ESPN broadcast cut away from the event as two men and one woman made a stance against the usage of fossil fuels. The three were wearing shirts emblazoned with ‘end fossil fuels’ and the extinction rebellion logo.
Chants of ‘get them out’ could be heard with one of the males, wearing a gray t-shirt refusing to be taken away. He was handcuffed by NYPD after securing himself to the floor inside the stadium. Eventually, he was escorted out by police after they determined it would be safe for the protestor.
The other two were removed peacefully from the stadium some 20 minutes earlier. The triumvirate could be heard screaming ‘end fossil fuels’, so much so that it disrupted play. NYPD has now been called into the stadium.
Three protestors were responsible for an extraordinary delay during the U.S. Open semifinal
The most troublesome protestor of the trident glued his feet to the concrete floor beneath him
The protestor glued his feet to the concrete inside Arthur Ashe Stadium late on Saturday night
There was mass confusion as to why the individual in grey was not removed more swiftly
The man pictured in the grey t-shirt, alongside the woman in yellow, screamed ‘end fossil fuels’
Coco Gauff was clearly frustrated by the delay and did not want to go off the court up one set
Gauff was clearly frustrated by the delay and did not want to go off, initially asking why they were ‘negotiating’ with the protesters and sarcastically asking if it was a ‘hostage situation’.
Her coach Brad Gilbert shouted down to Tournament Referee ‘this is a joke!’. However it then became clear that the situation was more complicated as one protester chose glue instead of shoes as his preferred footwear, which was confirmed by a USTA spokesperson.
Both players were left to keep themselves occupied in the tournament gym, with Gilbert giving Gauff a pep talk. Gauff was finally recalled to the court 42 minutes after the last point had been played.
Naturally, many around the trio in the nosebleeds were disgruntled at the boorish behavior.
Spectators jeered, booed and yelled various orders such as ‘sit down’, even saying ‘you suck’ to the troublesome trio.
While ESPN provided a vague description, they did acknowledge it was an ‘environmental protest.’
Players were given the opportunity to head back to the locker room and spent time in the hallway as their coaches used the allotted time to leave the box, per the broadcast.
More to come…
